Indices of industrial production for mining,
manufacturing and electricity production saw growth of 10 per cent, 3.2 per
cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively.

The cumulative growth for April-February
2019-20 period stood at 0.9 per cent
India's industrial output,
measured in Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded 4.5 per cent during
February, compared to 0.2 per cent recorded in the same period last year. This
was the second consecutive month of improvement in factory output, led by
growth in mining, manufacturing and electricity sector, which rose to 10 per
cent, 3.2 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively. The industries output is
likely to fell sharply in March as businesses faces a big economic challenge in
the wake of Centre's 21-day lockdown announced in the view of coronavirus
outbreak.
"The Quick Estimates
of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 for the month of
February 2020 stands at 133.3, which is 4.5 per cent higher as compared to the
level in the month of February 2019," the data showed.
As per the data released by
the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the cumulative
growth for April-February 2019-20 period stood at 0.9 per cent, over the
corresponding period of the previous year, as per the data release by the
government on Thursday.
During April-February
2019-20, the cumulative yearly growth for the mining, manufacturing and
electricity sectors stood at 1.9 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 1.5 per cent,
respectively.
In terms
of industries, 13 out of the 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector
have shown positive growth during February 2020 versus February 2019, the data
showed.
While primary goods grew by
7.4 per cent in February, intermediate goods output expanded by 22.4 per cent
in the previous month.
Among others, capital goods
and consumer durables production contracted 9.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent,
respectively.
Commenting on IIP numbers,
Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist & Head Research at Knight Frank India, said,
"IIP growth of 4.5 per cent for February is the second consecutive month
of improvement. The improvement is mainly because of sharp jump in intermediate
goods, even while data for capital goods and consumer goods remain weak."
"There is not much to
cheer from this data as IIP growth is likely to sharply fall going forward due
to the impact of COVID 19 crisis. Even after the lockdown is lifted, demand for
consumer discretionary items will take time to recover given the poor consumer
sentiments in midst of job losses and pay cuts. Capital goods demand will also
remain weak as businesses will be wary of capex in these uncertain times,"
she added.
Date released earlier this
month showed that India's eight infrastructure sectors, which contribute over
40 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP), grew at an 11-month
high of 5.5 per cent in February. The growth of eight core industries was
driven by double-digits growth in coal and electricity sector. On the flip
side, crude oil, natural gas, and steel saw a contraction in the output.
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