Manufacturing output in IIP still shows weakness as headline numbers grow

One reason for decline is muted domestic demand, particularly in rural areas due to high inflation

While the headline numbers in the industrial output gathered momentum in January, manufacturing continues to be weak if one goes into detail.

The index of industrial production (IIP) increased to 5.2 per cent in January from the revised 4.7 per cent in the previous month year-on-year. Provisional numbers had put the IIP growth figures at 4.3 per cent.

Within IIP, manufacturing also rose to 3.7 per cent from the revised 3.1 per cent year-on-year over this period. The provisional numbers had shown that manufacturing grew by 2.6 per cent in December. If provisional numbers of January are compared with provisional