Industrial output growth slows to 3.6% in February

Industrial growth slowed to 3.6% in February, 2011, compared to 15.1% expansion in the year-ago period, dragged down by poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors.

However, overall 15 out of 17 industry groups achieved positive growth in the second month of 2011.

Growth in factory output in February, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was lower than the 3.95% expansion (revised upward from 3.7%) witnessed in the previous month.

Industrial output growth during the April-February period this fiscal stood at 7.8% vis-a-vis the corresponding period of the previous year.

In contrast, industrial output had expanded by 10% year-on-year in April-February, 2009-10, official data released here today shows.

In February, manufacturing growth plummeted to 3.5% from 16.1% a year ago.

The capital goods sector contracted by 18.4% in the month under review. The sector had posted a robust growth of 46.7% in February, 2010.

However, production in the consumer non-durables segment went up by 6.1% during the month under review. It had contracted by 0.8% in the same period a year ago.

Consumer durables segment grew by 23.4% in February as against 29.1% in the same month of last year.

Overall consumer goods reported a rise of 11.1% as against 6.3% during the month under review.

Intermediate goods reported a rise of 8.4% during the month as against a growth of 15.9% in February 2010.

Mining growth also plummeted to 0.6% in the month under review from 11% in the comparable month of 2010. Electricity generation output rose by 6.7% in February, compared to 7.3% growth in the same month last year.