Industrial output rebounds to 2.5%, grows a tad 1%

Showing signs of recovery, the industrial growth has bounced back to 2.5 per cent in March on better performance of manufacturing and power sectors coupled with higher output of capital goods.

Industrial production had seen a contraction of 2.8 per cent in March last year.

However, the factory output measured in term of index of industrial production grew by just one per cent in 2012-13 compared to a growth of 2.9 per cent in previous fiscal, according to official data released in New Delhi on Friday.

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Meanwhile, the growth in the industrial output for February has been slightly revised downwards to 0.46 per cent from the provisional estimates of 0.6 per cent released last month.

The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew by 3.2 per cent in March as against a decline in output by 3.6 per cent in the same month of 2012.

However in 2012-13, the growth in output of the key sector remained low at 1.2 per cent as against 3 per cent in 2011-12.

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Power generation grew by 3.5 per cent in March this year compared to a growth of 2.7 per cent in same month last year.

During 2012-13, electricity generation had gone up by 4 per cent against 8.2 per cent in 2011-12.

The capital goods output saw a growth of 6.9 per cent in March this year compared to a decline in production by 20.1 per cent in the same month of 2012.

During the entire last fiscal, the capital goods production declined by 6.3 per cent compared to a contraction of 4 per cent in 2011-12.

Overall, 10 of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during March.

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The mining output in March this year contracted by 2.9 per cent, compared to a decline of 1.1 per cent in the same month of 2012.

During 2012-13, the production in the sector showed a decline of 2.5 per cent, against contraction of 1.9 per cent in 2011-12.

The consumer goods output also saw a meagre growth of 1.6 per cent in March, compared to 1.1 per cent in same month last year.

In 2012-13, the growth in the segment was 2.4 per cent compared to 4.4 per cent in the previous fiscal.

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The decline in the output of consumer durables stood at 4.5 per cent in March, compared to a growth of 1.2 per cent in the same month of 2012.

The growth in the output of these goods stood at 2.1 per cent in 2012-13 compared to 2.6 per cent in previous fiscal.

The consumer non-durables output grew by 6.5 per cent in March from one per cent in the same month last year.

This segment's growth was at 2.7 per cent in 2012-13 as against 5.9 per cent in the previous fiscal.

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The intermediate goods production also saw a decline of 0.2 per cent in March, compared to a flat output in the same month last year.

In 2012-13, the segment recorded a growth of 1.2 per cent, compared to a contraction of 0.6 per cent in 2011-12.

The basic goods output grew by 2.6 per cent in March compared to a growth of 1.1 per cent in the same month last year.

During 2012-13, the production of basic goods grew by 2.3 per cent, compared to a growth of 5.5 per cent in the previous fiscal.