NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed to 3.8% in January this year from 4.2% in December 2023 owing to poor show by the manufacturing sector. According to government data released on Tuesday, the manufacturing sector grew at 3.2% in January compared with 4.5% in December 2023. The data also shows that the December IIP was revised upwards to 4.2% following a revision of core sector growth to 4.9% from 3.8%. The eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity. These sectors constitute 40% of the IIP and serve as a key indicator to industrial growth trends. In January 2023, industrial output had grown 5.8%.In January this year, mining and electricity production rose 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively, compared with 5.2% and 1.2% in December 2023. According to Aditi Nayar, chief economist of ICRA, the IIP growth is likely to remain at 3-4% in February. Meanwhile, retail inflation, also known as consumer-price-based inflation (CPI), remained unchanged at 5.09% in February compared to 5.1% in January. It was 6.44% in the same month of the previous year. Food inflation, which constitutes as much as 45.9% of the CPI basket, is still on the higher side as it came in at 8.66% in February compared with 8.3% in the previous month. Last year, it was recorded at 5.95%, data showed.
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