Industrial growth falls to 3.3 pc in July

Industrial growth falls to 3.3 pc in July

Industrial growth fell to a meagre 3.3 pc in July this year on account of poor performance mainly by capital goods, manufacturing and mining sectors, reflecting sluggishness in the economy.

Growth in the factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (LIP), had stood at 9.9 percent in July last year.

During the April-July period of this fiscal, IIP growth stood at 5.8 percent, as against 9.7 percent in the corresponding four-month period last year.

Output of the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 percent of the index, grew by only 2.3 percent in July compared to 10.8 percent expansion in the same month last year, according the official data released on Monday.

Production of capital goods declined by 15.2 percent in July, in comparison to a growth of 40.3 percent in the same month of 2010.

The growth in mining production was 2.8 percent in the month, down from 8.7 percent in the same month last year.

Production of intermediate goods fell by 1.1 percent during the month under review against a growth of 8.5 percent in July 2010.

Consumer durables grew by 8.6 percent in July as compared to a growth of 14.8 percent in the corresponding month of last year.

However, electricity production improved witnessing a growth of 13.1 percent in July this year as against a growth of 3.7 percent in July, 2010.
Non-durable consumer goods (FMCG) production also grew by 4.1 percent in July, compared to a decline of 0.9 percent in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the industrial growth number for June this year has been maintained at the provisional figure of 8.8 percent.

However, the IIP numbers for April has been revised downward to 5.3 percent as per the final revision from the previous estimate of 5.7 percent.

The fall the industrial production numbers, as shown by the latest data, suggest continuation of the sluggishness in the economy, experts said.