India's factory output contracts in October

New Delhi: According to official data released on India’s factory output, it has come to light that factory output contracted by (-)1.92 per cent in October from a marginal rise of 0.67 per cent in September and a 9.9 per cent jump in the corresponding month of last year. As per the data on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the decline was mainly on account of a (-)2.4 per cent drop in manufacturing output, which has the maximum weight in the overall index. Among the other two major sub-indices, mining slipped by (-)1.1 per cent, whereas electricity generation inched up by 1.1 per cent. The cumulative growth of the country's factory output fell by (-)0.3 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal. In addition, the data revealed that among the six use-based classifications of the index, the output of consumer goods segment contracted by (-)1.6 per cent in October. The consumer non-durables segment's output decreased by three per cent, whereas the consumer durables segment inched up by 0.2 per cent. The capital goods segment, which is a key indicator of economic activity plunged by (-)25.9 per cent. However,the basic and intermediate goods' output rose by 4.1 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. Overall, only 12 out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed negative growth during the month under review. Segment-wise, high negative growth was reported in the 'cable, rubber insulated' ((-)92.9 per cent), 'H R Sheet' ((-)44.1 per cent), 'sugar machinery' ((-)36.4 per cent), and 'leather garments' ((-)29 per cent), ‘kerosene' ((-)27 per cent), ‘boilers' ((-)23.8 per cent) and ‘aluminium wires and extrusions' ((-)21.3 per cent). Moreover, growth was witnessed in 'ship building and repairs' (87.5 per cent), 'electric sheets (72.7 per cent), 'aviation turbine fuel' (54.4 per cent), ‘plastic machinery including moulding machinery' (48 per cent), ‘furnace oil' (44.7 per cent), ‘instant food mixes (ready to eat)' (40.4 per cent), ‘petroleum coke' (28.8 per cent), ‘liquid petroleum gas' (22.3 per cent) and ‘petrol' (22.2 per cent). India Inc. on its part said that ease of doing business and other such reforms will help in reviving growth. "The performance of the index clearly shows that investments and particularly private investments remain depressed," said Harshavardhan Neotia, President, Ficci. "Continuation of the reforms for the ease of doing business, faster implementation of GST, lower interest rates and measures to stimulate domestic demand would help in boosting confidence and achieving sustainable growth."