Coal news and updates

Dec IIP dips 1.3% y-o-y, down 2nd month in a row

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for December 2015 stood at 183.4, down 1.3% compared to the same month in the previous year. In November 2015, the IIP fell to a record low of 3.2% y-o-y while in October 2015, IIP growth had touched its 5-year high of 9.9%. Industrial output indicates that the manufacturing growth story is still weak in India.

The cumulative growth for the period April-December, 2015 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 3.1%. Except for the manufacturing sector, all the other sectors, such as mining and electricity, reported a fall in the IIP figure.

Capital goods production had grown at a tepid pace of 1.7% during April-December while consumer non-durables contracted 1% in the same period.

Out of 22 industry groups, 10 categories reported negative growth. The highest negative growth was reported by “electrical machinery & apparatus” (-) 44.9%. It was followed by (- 10.7% in “publishing, printing and recorded media” and (-) 8.2% in “tobacco products”.

Some important items showing high negative growth during the current month over the same month in the previous year include “cable, rubber insulated” (-) 85.2%, “heat exchangers” (-) 68.8%, “cement machinery” (-) 60.2%, “soybean oil” (-) 42.3%, polythene bags ,including HDPE & LDPE bags’ (-) 53.9%, “grinding wheels” (-) 37.4%, “Ayurvedic medicaments” (-) 24.4%, “boilers” (-) 22.7% and “sponge iron” (-) 22.5%.  

December IIP is the last set of figures available to the finance minister before he tables the second full year Budget of the NDA government, on February 29, 2016. 

India Inc is waiting for some announcements in the Budget which would boost the manufacturing sector.