NEW DELHI: The country’s industrial production growth fell to 4.3% in December from 7.3% in November 2022, mainly due to subdued performance of the manufacturing sector, as per the official data released on Friday.
However, there was an improvement in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which stood at 1% in December 2021, on year-on-year basis. As per the IIP data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), manufacturing sector’s output grew 2.6% in December 2022 from 0.6% a year ago. Growth stood at 6.4% in the preceding month of November 2022.
Mining output rose by 9.8% during the month under review, from 2.6% in December 2021. Power generation rose 10.4% in December 2022 as against 2.8% in the year-ago month. As per use-based classification, capital goods segment recorded a growth of 7.6% in December against a decline of 3% in the corresponding month of the last fiscal.
Consumer durables output fell 10.4% as against a contraction of 1.9% a year ago. Consumer non-durable goods output expanded 7.2% as against a growth of 0.3% earlier. Infrastructure/construction goods too posted a growth of 8.2% as against 2% in the same month of 2021.
Output of primary goods logged 8.3% growth in the month as against 2.8% in the same period a year ago. “YoY growth in IIP is likely to improve in the ongoing quarter (+2.4% in Q3 FY2023), partly boosted by typical year-end push in volumes to achieve targets as well as a low base of the third Covid wave.
However, we remain watchful of the impact of a slowdown in external demand and the consequent decline in merchandise exports on the performance of the manufacturing sector,” says Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA.