August industrial output in negative zone, contracts 0.7%
11 Oct 2016 9:47 PM GMT
Remaining in the negative for the second month in a row, industrial production contracted by 0.7 per cent in August due to slump in manufacturing, mining and capital goods segments.
The factory output, measured by movement in Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had slipped to 8-month low of (-)2.49 (revised) in July on account of declining output in manufacturing and capital goods sectors. The IIP slump in August is lower than July. On cumulative basis, the factory output in April-August contracted by 0.3 per cent, compared to growth of 4.1 per cent in the year-ago period.
The official data released today showed the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the IIP index, contracted by 0.3 per cent in August as against 6.6 per cent expansion in the same month last year.
The capital goods output registered a steep decline of 22.2 per cent in the month, against a growth rate of 21.3 per cent in last year.
The data revealed that mining activities shrunk by 5.6 as in August this year as against a growth of 4.5 in August 2015.
Power generation remained almost flat (0.1 per cent) in compared to an expansion of 5.6 per cent in the year ago period. Output of consumer durables registered a growth of 2.3 per cent while growth in non-durables segment was almost flat.
Overall, consumer goods production recorded a growth 1.1 per cent in August compared to 6 per cent a year ago. In terms of industries, seven out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during August year-on-year.
Some important items showing high negative growth during the current month include cable, rubber insulated, sugar machinery, woollen carpets, gems and jewellery, and rice.
Some important items that have registered high positive growth include fruit pulp, air conditioner, instant food mixes, ship building and repairs, scooter and mopeds, stainless/alloy steel and boilers.
Menwhile, Indirect tax collections during the first half of the current fiscal grew 25.9 per cent to Rs 4.08 lakh crore mainly on account of 46 per cent jump in excise duty mop up. The net indirect tax collection in the April-September period accounts for 52.5 per cent of the Budget 2016-17 estimates.
A finance ministry statement said net tax collections of central excise jumped 46.3 per cent to Rs 1.83 lakh crore during April-September, as compared to Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the year-ago period.
Net service tax mop up during April-September grew 22.1 per cent to Rs 1.16 lakh crore, compared to Rs 95,780 crore during the 6-month period of last fiscal. Net customs duty collection during the six month period of 2016-17 stood at Rs 1.08 lakh crore as compared to Rs 1.03 lakh crore, a growth of 4.8 per cent.
Government hopes to collect Rs 8.47 lakh crore from direct taxes and Rs 7.79 lakh crore from indirect taxes, which includes customs, excise and service tax, in 2016-17.
Exports growth may be slow, but steady in coming months, says commerce minister Nirmala
The fall in exports has been arrested and its growth is expected to be slow but steady in the coming months, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. “At the moment, the fall is arrested (and it) is very clear. The growth is happening. We will only be looking at the steady growth. It may be slow but steady” she told reporters here.
She said this in a reply to a question on outlook for exports in the coming months. Contracting for the second month in a row, India’s exports dipped 0.3 per cent to $21.51 billion owing to decline in shipments of products like petroleum and leather. Exports were in negative zone between December 2014 and May 2016 due to weak global demand and slide in oil prices.
Shipments witnessed growth only in June this year thereafter again entered into negative zone in July. Meanwhile the minister also launched a dashboard on foreign trade data. “This has everything to do with exports and imports. What is the global position and which country is buying from India, every data in exports and imports from ports to geographical areas are there,” she said.
This is part of the initiative of the ministry to provide easy access to the public with regard to India s export, import and balance of trade data in an analytical format, over time and space. She said technology will be used for transparent decision making and reaching out to people using real time data. The detailed data would help user to inspect the trade that happens between India and a particular country, zoom into the activities of a particular port and reflect trade pattern over any months of the user’s choice.
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