The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): India witnessed a significant surge in industrial output this February, recording the fastest growth in the past four months at a rate of 5.7% compared to the same month the previous year. This data was released by the government last Friday.
The growth rate, although robust, was slightly below the 6% increase forecasted by economists surveyed by Reuters. The industrial output growth for the previous month, January, was also adjusted upwards to 4.1% from an earlier estimate of 3.8%.
The manufacturing sector saw a 5% increase in output from February last year, although this was a deceleration from the 5.9% growth seen a year earlier. Meanwhile, electricity production increased by 7.5%, a slight drop from the 8.2% growth recorded last February. On a brighter note, mining output improved dramatically, with an 8% increase compared to a 4.8% rise the previous year.
Infrastructure goods production saw an 8.5% rise year on year, slightly under the 9% growth observed last February. However, capital goods only experienced a modest 1.2% increase, a significant drop from the 11% surge a year earlier.
In terms of consumer goods, durables such as automobiles, refrigerators, and washing machines saw a notable rise in production by 12.3% in February, contrasting sharply with a contraction of 4.1% in the same month last year. Conversely, production of non-durable consumer goods fell by 3.8%, a stark reversal from the 12.5% increase noted last February.
Overall, the industrial sector’s performance in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, which began in April 2023, showed a 5.9% increase, marginally higher than the 5.6% rise during the same period the previous year.
According to Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, while the output for February met expectations, there are signs of softening economic activities as of March, which could lead to a projected annual growth in industrial output ranging between 4.5% and 5.5%.