After contracting in the last two successive months, India’s Index of Industrial Production, or IIP, with base 2004-05, growth rate for January rebound to 2.4 percent year-over-year, mainly due to increase in production of electricity, manufacturing, basic goods and intermediate goods sectors.
Data released by the Central Statistical Organization of the Ministry of Statistics & Program Implementation on Tuesday showed that the IIP for January had a 2.4 percent growth, compared to 1.0 percent for the corresponding month last year.
Cumulative index of industrial production for April-January of the current fiscal (with base year 2004-05) stood at 1.0 percent, down from the 3.4 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Manufacturing sector’s growth rate in January, with a weightage of 75.53 percent, witnessed a 2.7 percent growth, up from 1.1 percent in the corresponding month in 2012. Power sector also witnessed a 6.4 percent growth, up from the 3.2 percent in January 2012, while Mining sector witnessed a negative growth of 2.9 percent, compared to a negative growth of 2.1 percent in January 2012.
Meanwhile, the data kept the estimated growth rate for December revised slightly downward to negative 0.5 percent from a contraction of 0.6 percent, as per the provisional estimates released earlier.
In terms of industries, 11 of the 22 industry groups showed a positive growth in January, compared to the corresponding month in 2012.
As per the use-based classification, capital goods sector growth recorded a negative growth of 1.8 percent, compared to a negative growth of 2.7 percent in January 2012.
In January, the growth rate of basic goods expanded to 3.4 percent from the 1.9 percent for the same month in January 2012, while intermediate goods witnessed a positive growth of 2.0 percent, compared to a negative growth of 2.5 percent for the corresponding month in 2012.
In January, growth rate of consumer durables sector was negative at 0.9 percent, compared to a negative growth of 7.5 percent a year earlier, whereas non-durables growth contracted to 5.3 percent from the 10.6 percent for the same month in 2012. As such, growth rate of overall consumer goods expanded to 2.8 percent from the 2.5 percent witnessed in January 2012.
India’s eight core industries growth having a combined weightage of 37.90 percent in the IIP expanded to 3.9 percent in January from the 2.2 percent in January 2012 and from the previous month’s 2.5 percent, despite negative growth witnessed in the production of crude oil, natural gas, fertilizers and cement.
The Reserve Bank of India cut its key policy rate for the first time in nine months in January, but said any further policy easing would depend on how inflation and the fiscal deficit is controlled.
HSBC manufacturing PMI surveys also showed that domestic orders have boosted Indian factory activity so far this year, however weak global demand has hurt exports.
The World Bank President, who is on a three-day visit to India, on Monday said the Indian economy would soon get back to high growth path of six percent next fiscal and more thereafter, backing the government’s assessment presented in the budget. The Economic Survey has projected a growth in 2013-14 in the range of 6.1 percent to 6.5 percent.
To support growth the Indian government last week unveiled a surge in spending and imposed new taxes on the rich and large companies.
by RTT Staff Writer
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