New Delhi: Lockdown takes a heavy toll on industrial output

New Delhi: India's industrial production contracted by a record 16.7 per cent in March, as compared 2.7 per cent in the period a year ago, on account of the poor show by mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors mainly due to the nationwide lockdown, government data showed on Tuesday. The government had imposed the lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from March 24.

The 16.7 per cent fall in factory output is the sharpest since April 2012, based on the new series of IIP data with base year 2011-12.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, manufacturing sector output fell 20.6 per cent compared to a growth of 3.1 per cent in the same month a year ago. India's manufacturing output contracted 20.6 per cent in March from a year earlier. Electricity generation declined by 6.8 per cent as against a growth of 2.2 per cent in March 2019. Mining sector output remained flat compared to a growth of 0.8 per cent earlier.

In the last fiscal, the IIP contracted by 0.7 per cent from 3.8 per cent expansion in the 2018-19. The data from March showed that production of capital goods declined by 35.6 per cent as compared to 9.1 per cent during the corresponding period last year.

As per use-based classification, primary goods registered a contraction of 3.1 per cent, intermediate goods 18.5 per cent (-) and infrastructure goods 23.8 per cent (-) in March over the same period a year ago.

While consumer durables output declined 33.1 per cent, non-durable production fell 16.2 per cent in March. In terms of industries, 7 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed positive growth in March 2020.