October industrial output up 3.2% on declining base effect
India’s industrial output growth remained weak for the second straight month and grew by 3.2% in October, mainly on account of a waning base effect, while mining, power and manufacturing sectors performed well.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 77.63% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew 2% in October, according to data from the National Statistical Office (NSO). Mining sector output grew 11.4% in October, while electricity generation grew by 3.1%.
Each of the four months from May to August recorded double-digit growth in factory output. Thereafter, it fell to 3.3 per cent and then to 3.2 per cent in September, mainly due to lower base effect.
The IIP in October 2021 stood at 133.7 points as compared to 129.6 points a year ago. The data shows that the index stood at 124 points in October 2019.
The second wave of the pandemic began in mid-April this year and several states imposed restrictions to contain the spread of the infection.
“In view of the unusual circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 onwards, the growth rate over the corresponding period of the previous year is to be interpreted,” the NSO said in the statement.
Capital goods production, a barometer of investment, contracted 1.1% in October 2021. It had seen a growth of 3.2% a year ago. Consumer durables manufacturing contracted 6.1% as against a growth of 18.1% in October 2020. Production of consumer non-durables grew 0.5% in October, up from 7.3% in the year-ago period.
,