Industrial output returns to positive trajectory in September

Photo used for representation purpose. File
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

India’s industrial output returned to the positive trajectory with a moderate uptick of 3.1% in September, after recording the first contraction in 21 months this August, led by a 3.9% growth in manufacturing output even as electricity and mining sectors clocked a mere 0.5% and 0.2% rise, respectively.

The Index of Industrial Production inched up 0.7% from August levels to touch 146.7, but this was still the second weakest output level since December 2023.

The mining and manufacturing indices moved up mildly from August, indicating an rise in month-on-month production levels, but electricity generation fell 2.5% sequentially and was at its lowest since March this year.

Output levels in India’s eight core sectors, which account for about 40% of the IIP, had slipped to a ten-month low in September, even as they grew a mild 2% year-on-year.

Unlike August, when 11 of 23 manufacturing segments contracted, just five industries reported a drop in production volumes compared to last September. However, computers and electronics, which was one of just five segments to clock a double-digit growth in August, slipped into a 1.3% contraction in September.

Industrial output has now grown at 4% through the first half of the year, compared to a 6.2% uptick between April and September 2023, with manufacturing (3.7%) and mining (4.2%) dragging down growth, even as electricity generation grew 6.1%, the same rate as last year.