Industrial output grows 2% in January, highest in six months on uptick in mining, power sector

New Delhi: India's industrial production grew at the fastest pace in six months at 2 percent in January, mainly on account of uptick in mining activity and power generation, official data showed on Thursday.Factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had recorded a growth of 1.6 percent in January 2019. It grew 4.9 percent in July 2019.The production contracted by 1.4 percent in August, 4.6 in September and 6.6 percent in October last year. It grew 1.8 percent in November and 0.1 percent in December 2019.Last month, provisional data had showed that IIP contracted by 0.3 percent in December 2019.According to data from the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector output grew at a rate of 1.5 percent in January as compared with a rise of 1.3 percent in the corresponding month a year ago.Electricity generation rose 3.1 percent, against 0.9 percent growth in January 2019.The mining sector output posted a growth of 4.4 percent in January 2020, compared with a rise of 3.8 percent a year ago.The IIP growth during the April 2019-January 2020 period decelerated to 0.5 percent, from 4.4 percent expansion in the corresponding period of 2018-19[caption id="attachment_4236685" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]The data for January further showed that production of capital goods, a barometer of investment, shrunk by 4.3 percent as compared with a contraction of 3.6 percent in the corresponding month of the previous year.As per use-based classification, the growth rates in January 2020 over January 2019 are 1.8 percent in primary goods, 15.8 percent in intermediate goods and (-) 2.2 percent in infrastructure and construction goods.The consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 4.0 percent and (-) 0.3 percent, respectively.Eleven out of the 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during the month of January 2020 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.The industry group 'manufacture of tobacco products' has shown the highest growth of 22.8 percent, followed by 14.1 percent in 'manufacture of basic metals' and 9 percent in 'manufacture of furniture'.On the other hand, the industry group 'printing and reproduction of recorded media' has shown the highest negative growth of 16.3 percent, followed by (-) 11.6 percent in 'manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products' and (-) 10.6 percent in 'manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers'.