New Delhi: With poor showing by the mining as well as power generation sectors, India's industrial output contracted by 0.1 per cent in August as compared to a growth of 4.7 per cent in the previous month (July), as per data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) on Friday.
The factory output, measured in terms of the index of industrial production or IIP, saw a growth of 10.9 per cent in August 2023. “It is likely that the decline in the growth of the mining sector is due to heavy rainfall in the month of August 2024,” an official statement said.
The three major components of IIP, including mining, manufacturing and electricity, witnessed a contraction of 4.2 per cent, growth of 1 per cent and contraction of 3.7 per cent, respectively. In April-August this fiscal, the IIP grew 4.2 per cent against 6.2 per cent in the year-ago period. However, experts believe that this decline in production is not alarming, as it largely reflects the temporary dousing of mining output, electricity demand and retail footfalls by the heavier than normal rains, as well as an unfavourable base. “Nevertheless, in disaggregated terms, all the use-based categories reported a deterioration in August 2024 relative to the previous month,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist of ICRA.
