After contracting for the first time in 15 years in October, industrial production again crashed by two per cent in December against a growth rate of as much as 8 per cent a year ago despite a stimulus package announced by the government to boost sagging demand.
The manufacturing sector, which has a weight of about 80 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), registered negative growth of 2.5 per cent against a rise of 8.6 per cent in December 2007.
Also read: High base effect likely to pull down December IIP
Even mining output and electricity generation grew only by one per cent and 1.6 per cent against 5 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively, a year ago.
The production of consumer durables and consumer non-durables as well as intermediate items declined.
Consumer durables production fell as much as 12.8 per cent.
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For the first nine months of the current fiscal, industrial growth stood at 3.2 per cent against 9 per cent a year ago.
The official advance estimates released earlier this week pegged industrial growth at 4.8 per cent for the current fiscal.