Factory output growth contracts to 2% in April

 The industrial production growth has slipped to 2 per cent in April on account of dismal performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors coupled with lower output of capital goods.The factory output measured in terms of index of industrial production (IIP) had seen a contraction of 1.3 per cent in April last year, according to official data released here on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the IIP growth rate for March this year has been revised to 3.4 per cent from the provisional estimates of 2.5 per cent released last month.The industrial growth in 2012-13 has also been revised slightly upwards to 1.1 per cent from provisional estimates of 1 per cent released in May. IIP growth in 2011-12 was 2.9 per cent.

Manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew by meagre 2.8 per cent in April against a decline in the output by 1.8 per cent in the year-ago month.

Power generation grew by just 0.7 per cent in April this year compared to a growth of 4.6 per cent in same month last year.The mining sector output contracted by 3 per cent in April this year compared to a decline in the production by 2.8 per cent in April 2012.The capital goods output saw a growth of just one per cent in April this year compared to a decline in production by 21.5 per cent in the year-ago period.
Overall, 13 out of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during April. The consumer goods output also saw a meagre growth of 2.8 per cent in April, compared to 3.7 per cent in same month last year.

The decline in the output of consumer durables stood at 8.3 per cent in April, from a growth of 5.4 per cent in the same month of 2012.
The consumer non-durables output grew by 12.3 per cent in April against 2.3 per cent in April last year.The intermediate goods production grew by 2.4 per cent in April, compared to a decline in output by 1.8 per cent in year-ago period.The basic goods output grew by 1.3 per cent in the reported month from 1.9 per cent in April 2012.