IIP dip due to statistical reasons: Montek

Plan panel deputy says the efforts taken by govt will yield fruits in coming month

Attributing decline in industrial output in November to statistical reasons, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the growth has already bottomed out and efforts taken by the government will yield fruits in coming month.

"This data does not contradict the proposition that the economy has bottomed out. It now needs to move upwards...You need to wait to see what December is like," Ahluwalia said.

He was commenting on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data which showed that factory output in November contracted by 0.1% compared to 6% growth in the same month in 2011. During the April-November period of this fiscal, the IIP recorded a dismal growth of 1%, down from 3.8% in the corresponding period a year ago.

"In this particular case, we have to keep in mind that the base effect has operated in two different way," Ahluwalia said, adding the decline "is not a matter of surprise."

On IIP decline in November, he said, "This year it [Diwali] was in November so what you have seen is a dip in November. This dip in [IPP in November] has to be actually compared to last year’s growth of 6%."

Alhuwalia further said: "I have said this many times, it's not a very reliable estimate of the monthly growth rate...."

He expressed the hope that steps taken by government have given clear signals of growth in the last several months and would help in improving investment climate.

Moreover, he said the results of the government's decision to remove major bottlenecks for big infrastructure projects and improve availability of coal for the power sector would become manifest soon.