IIP Data: India's Industrial Output Rises 0.4% In December, Says Govt

During April-December this fiscal year, the IIP grew 15.2 per cent against a 13.3 per cent contraction in the same period last year

New Delhi: India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose by 0.4 per cent in December 2021, according to official data released on Friday.

According to the industrial growth data by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector’s output contracted by 0.1 per cent in December 2021 because of Covid disruptions.

In December 2021, the mining output climbed 2.6 per cent, and power generation increased by 2.8 per cent. The IIP had grown by 2.2 per cent in December 2020.

During April-December this fiscal year, the IIP grew 15.2 per cent against a 13.3 per cent contraction in the same period last year.

Industrial production has been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic since March 2020, when it had contracted 18.7 per cent.

It shrank 57.3 per cent in April 2020 because of a decline in economic activities in the wake of lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus infections.

The manufacturing sector, which makes up over three-fourths of the IIP, contracted by 0.1 per cent year-on-year in December 2021. This is the first such contraction of the sector since February 2021.

In December 2020, the manufacturing sector had witnessed growth of 2.7 per cent. During the same month, the mining sector had fallen (-) 3.0 per cent, while the electricity sector had surged of 5.1 per cent, the data showed.

A day before the IIP data was declared, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent for the 10th time in a row and continued with ‘accommodative stance’ in the backdrop of an elevated level of inflation.

The RBI projected the real GDP growth at 7.8 per cent for FY22-23, while the CPI inflation projection retained at 5.3 per cent for FY21-22, and 4.5 per cent for FY22-23.