Industrial output contracts 1.8 percent in October

India's industrial output contracted by 1.8 percent during October -- from a year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent in the corresponding month of last year -- due to poor performance of the mining and manufacturing sectors, government data showed Thursday.

Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by two percent in September.

The cumulative growth of the industrial production for the April-October period year-on-year was at a standstill from a growth of about 1.2 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) here.

Mining output in October declined by 3.5 percent as against negative growth of 0.2 percent in the corresponding month of last year. Mining output in September had risen by 3.3 percent.

Manufacturing production registered a decline of two percent during the month under review from a gain of 9.9 percent in October 2012. In September, the sector's output grew by 0.6 percent.

The electricity sector reported an increase of 1.3 percent in October from 5.5 percent recorded in the corresponding month of last year. In September, the sector had registered a healthy increase of 12.9 percent.