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IIP falls 1.8% in Oct

December 13: India's index, industrial production (IIP) fell by 1.8% in October 2013 after growing 2% in September, a contraction witnessed for the first time in the last four months, a Government release said.

The indices of industrial production for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for the month of October 2013 stood at 118.1, 178.8 and 162.6 respectively, with the corresponding growth rates of  -3.5%, -2.0% and 1.3% as compared to October 2012. The cumulative growth in the three sectors during April-October 2013-14 over the corresponding period of 2012-13 stood at -2.7%, -0.3% and 5.3%, respectively.

Industrial activity was hit as the infrastructure output, which includes coal, electricity, cement, crude oil and steel factories contracted.

Output in those industries, which account for more than one-third of overall factory production, fell 0.6% annually compared with a reading of 8% in September, data revealed.