India's factory output remains subdued in August

India's factory output remained subdued for the second consecutive month -- decelerating by (-) 0.7 per cent in August from a decline of (-)2.49 per cent in July and a 6.3 per cent rise in the corresponding month of last year, official data showed on Monday.

As per the data on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the fall was mainly on account of a (-) 0.3 per cent drop in manufacturing output, which also has the maximum weight in the overall index.

Among the other two major sub-indices, electricity generation inched up by 0.1 per cent while that for mining declined by (-) 5.6 per cent.

The cumulative growth of the country's factory output declined by (-) 0.3 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

Cumulative growth during the corresponding period of last fiscal stood at 4.1 per cent.

In addition, the data revealed that among the six use-based classifications of the index, the output of consumer durables segment expanded by 2.3 per cent in August.

The consumer goods segment's output increased by 1.1 per cent, whereas the consumer non-durables segment inched-up by 0.1 per cent.

However, capital goods segment, which is a key indicator of economic activity plunged by (-) 22.2 per cent.

The basic and intermediate goods' output rose by 3.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.

Overall, only seven out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during the month under review.

Segment-wise, growth was witnessed in 'fruit pulp' (762 per cent), 'air conditioner (room)' (59.1 per cent), 'instant food mixes (ready to eat)' (46.5 per cent), 'ship building and repairs' (41.1 per cent), 'scooter and mopeds' (33.3 per cent), 'stainless/ alloy steel' (31.8 per cent), and 'boilers' (22.8 per cent).

Moreover, high negative growth was reported in the 'cable, rubber insulated' ((-) 86.2 per cent), 'sugar machinery' ((-) 65.5 per cent), 'wollen carpets' ((-) 35.7 per cent) and 'gems and jewellery' ((-) 31 per cent).

--IANS

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