Coal news and updates

Industrial growth likely to remain week till March: CRISIL

January 13: Industrial growth is likely to remain weak for the rest of 2013-14, due to infrastructure and input constraints and weak domestic demand, industry analyst CRISIL Limited said in a statement.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Index of industrial production (IIP) fell by 2.1% in November 2013 on a year-on-year basis, sharper than October's decline of 1.8%.

Despite a pick-up in core infrastructure industries such as mining and electricity, industrial production fell in November 2013 as the manufacturing sector contracted by 3.5% compared to a year ago.

"Robust export growth with rising global demand may, however, provide some cushion to manufacturing production. Even though the mining ban has been lifted in Karnataka, revival in mining output will be slow as it will take time for firms to obtain relevant clearances and ramp up production. The Cabinet Committee on Investments has also been fast-tracking stalled projects; however, as most of these are infrastructure projects and have long gestation periods, the impact of these measures will not be felt until 2014-15," the statement said.