Industrial output falls a record 16.7 pc in March

India's industrial production contracted by a record 16.7 per cent in March, on account of poor show by mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors mainly due to the nationwide lockdown, government data showed on Tuesday.

The government had imposed the lockdown to contain COVID-19 from March 25.

The 16.7 per cent fall in factory output is the sharpest since April 2012, based on the new series of IIP data with base year 2011-12.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by 2.7 per cent in March, 2019.

According to National Statistical Office (NSO) data, manufacturing sector output fell 20.6 per cent compared to a growth of 3.1 per cent in the same month a year ago.

Electricity generation declined by 6.8 per cent as against a growth of 2.2 per cent in March 2019.

Mining sector output remained flat compared to a growth of 0.8 per cent earlier.

The IIP in the last fiscal contracted by 0.7 per cent from 3.8 per cent expansion in the 2018-19.

The data for March showed that production of capital goods, a barometer of investment, declined by 35.6 per cent as compared to a contraction of 9.1 per cent in the same month previous year.

As per use-based classification, primary good registered a contraction of 3.1 per cent, intermediate goods 18.5 per cent (-) and infrastructure/ construction goods 23.8 per cent (-) in March 2020 over the same period previous year.

The consumer durables output fell 33.1 per cent, while non-durables production slipped 16.2 per cent in March.

In terms of industries, 7 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth in March 2020.