Coal news and updates

September IIP at 2% versus 0.43% in August

November 13: After remaining flat in August, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is showing signs of recovery as factory output grew by 2% in September, mainly on account of better performance by the power and mining sectors.

Factory output, as measured in terms of IIP, had contracted by 0.7% in September last year.

Meanwhile, IIP for August this year has been revised to 0.43% from the provisional estimate of 0.6%.

According to data released by the government, industrial output for April-September is 0.4% compared to 0.1% in the same period of 2012-13.

Power generation showed a healthy growth of 12.9% in the month under review. Expansion in power generation was 5.9% in April-September compared to 4.6% in the same period of last year.

The mining sector, with a weight of about 14% in the IIP, grew 3.3% in September as against 2.2% in the same month last fiscal.

However, during April-September, the output shrank by 2.5% as against a contraction of 1.1% in the same period last year.

The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew a meagre 0.6% in September against a decline of 1.6% in the year-ago period.

During April-September, the sector's output grew by 0.1% compared to a decline of 0.3% in the same period last year.

Capital goods production, a barometer of demand, showed a decline of 6.8% in the month as against a contraction of 13.3% in September 2012.

The segment declined by 0.7% in April-September as against a sharp contraction of 14.2% in the comparable period.

The consumer durables segment contracted by 10.8% in September as against a decline of 1.5% in the same month last year.

During April-September, the segment contracted by 10.9% compared to a growth of 4% in the same period last year.

The growth in the non-durables sector was 11.3% in the month under review as against 1.4% in September last year.

During April-September, the segment's growth was 7.3% compared to 1.6% in the same period last year.

Overall, the consumer goods segment grew by 0.6% in September compared to flat output in the same month last year.

During April-September, the consumer goods output contracted by 1.3% compared to 2.7% growth in the corresponding period last year.

The intermediate goods segment expanded at a rate of 4.1% in September compared to 1.7% in same month last year. During April-September, the segment grew by 2.6% compared to 1.1% in the six-month period last year.

In terms of industries, 13 out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown growth.

India Inc today said the rise in industrial output, which came in at 2% in September, was not enough to conclude that recovery is on the cards as manufacturing growth would remain subdued in the coming months.