India's industrial output grows 3.4 percent

India's industrial output increased by 3.4 percent in April from a growth of 1.5 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal due to a sharp rise in electricity and manufacturing activity, government data showed Thursday.

The industrial output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 0.5 percent in March from a negative 1.9 percent in the previous month.

The cumulative growth of the industrial production for the April-March 2013-14 period declined by 0.1 percent from a growth of 1.1 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) here.

Manufacturing production rose by 2.6 percent in the month under review from a growth of 1.8 percent in April 2013, while mining production grew by 1.2 percent from a negative 3.4 percent on a year-on-year basis.

However, electricity production jumped by 11.9 percent from a growth of 4.2 percent in April 2013.

In terms of industries, 14 out of the twenty two industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth in April.

As per use-based classification, the growth rates in April 2014 over the corresponding month of 2013 are 6.8 percent in basic goods, 15.7 percent in capital goods and 4.4 percent in intermediate goods.

However, consumer durables contracted by 7.6 percent, while consumer non-durables declined by 3.3 percent, overall consumer goods dropped by 5.1 percent.

Segment-wise growth was witnessed in cable, rubber insulated (267.1 percent), copper and copper products (75.4), Ayurvedic Medicaments (70.4 percent), sugar (53.1), leather garments (45.5 percent), stainless steel (39.4 percent), cigarettes (31.3 percent) and scooters and mopeds (28 percent).

Segment-wise, high negative growth was reported in aluminium conductor (-51.1 percent), sacking (-48.8 percent), telephone instruments including mobile phones and accessories(-36.4 percent), cashew kernels (35.4 percent), apparels (-27.3 percent), antibiotics and its preparations (25.2 percent), tea (24.4 percent), generator (-23.4 percent) and commercial vehicles (-22.9 percent).