New Delhi, March 12
Bringing cheer on an
otherwise disturbed industrial scene, India's factory output in January
gained momentum rising 2.6 percent against a 1.1 percent increase during
the corresponding month of 2014, coupled with retail inflation slowing
at 5.37 percent in February against 7.88 percent in the like month of
last year.
Official data on Index for Industrial Production (IIP)
showed that the rise in the total factory output was mainly led by a
3.3-percent expansion in manufacturing, as also 2.7 percent in
electricity, even as mining activity declined 2.7 percent.
The
data on Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures retail inflation,
showed a rise of 4.95 percent in the urban areas and a bit more at 5.79
percent in the rural segment, to take the combined figure to 5.37
percent in February.
The CPI was, however, marginally higher
when compared to the figure of 5.19 percent for January 2015. The
February food inflation stood at 6.79 percent.
As per final CPI
inflation rate figures for January 2015 furnished by the Central
Statistics Office (CSO), the CPI urban for January stood at 4.96 percent
and rural at 5.34 percent. January food inflation stood at 6.14
percent.
Meanwhile, there was a massive increase in January 2015
IIP which was up 2.6 percent from a growth of 1.7 percent during
December 2014. In November 2014, the IIP had increased by 3.8 percent,
while in October it decelerated by 4.2 percent.
The cumulative
growth of IIP for April-January 2014-15 stood at 2.5 percent while the
figure for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal stood at 0.1
percent.
Manufacturing of basic and capital goods showed growth
during the month under review. However, production of intermediate goods
fell. Production of basic goods grew by 4.5 percent, while capital
goods production was up 12.8 percent, though intermediate goods declined
by 0.8 percent.
The production of consumer durables and
consumer non-durables plunged. The production of consumer durables was
down 5.3 percent, while consumer non-durables segment marginally went
down by 0.1 percent in the month under review.
The overall consumer goods segment was down 1.9 percent.
Overall, 14 out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during the month under review.
Segment-wise,
high positive growth was reported in boilers (20.8 percent), room air
conditioners (23.4 percent), rice (25.6 percent), carbon steel (29.4
percent), cable, rubber insulated (39.5 percent), PVC pipes and tubes
(41.0 percent), plastic machinery including moulding machinery (41.1
percent), gems and jewellery (44.4 percent) and stainless/alloy steel
(68.5 percent).
Segment-wise, high negative growth was reported
in colour TV sets (-20.6 percent), wooden furniture (-22.7 percent),
generator/alternator (- 23.4 percent), steel structures (-34.2 percent),
computers (-39.7 percent), tractors (-40.6 percent), ship building and
repairs (-42 percent) and telephone instruments, including mobile phones
and accessories (-57.9 percent).
India Inc. welcomed the uptick
in industrial production and said that the happy augury which would set
the pace for further growth during the course of the year.
"What
is heartening is the impressive performance of the capital goods sector
which has notched up double digit growth in January, indicating a
pick-up in investments during the month backed by improved sentiment and
government action," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general,
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
"We hope that going
forward, industrial growth would firm up further as both the government
and the RBI are working in sync to realise the objective of higher
growth and moderate inflation," Banerjee said.
He added that the
marginal uptick in CPI inflation over the previous month should not
dissuade the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) from continuing with its rate
easing cycle to support growth in the forthcoming monetary policy
announcement in April.
Other industry body Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that it was encouraging
to see positive growth in manufacturing for the last three months.
"We
hope this growth momentum to continue. The announcements made in the
budget, cuts in the repo rate announced by RBI and number of other
initiatives taken by the government in the last few months to improve
business sentiments are likely to push growth and investments in the
industrial sector in coming months,†said Arbind Prasad, director
general, FICCI.
