New series of IIP data expected by year-end

The government is likely to come out with more representative data on industrial production by this year-end by adding nearly 150 new items and deleting the obsolete ones from the index.

"Some remaining work is going on...Most probably the new IIP (Index of Industrial Production) series with the base year 2004-05 (will be out) by the end of this year," a senior industry ministry official said.

Currently, around 350 items are in the IIP basket to calculate the monthly industrial production figure. The new series would be more representative and would constitute around 500 items, the official added.

The new IIP series would reflect industrial scenario better than the base of 1993-94 used currently.

IIP data is often criticised for not catching up with the times and provide archaic figures compared to the ones provided by other agencies like Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

The new series is expected to do away with obsolete items and add those products which have entered the markets in recent years.

The official, however, did not divulge the details of new products and the old ones which will be deleted.

On a query whether the expansion of items would lead to a surge in the IIP numbers, the official said, "Probably not. I don't think it would be very different."

For the first time in nine months, the growth in IIP slid to a single digit of 7.1 per cent in June.