Industrial output goes missing in April as IIP sees record fall of 55.5%

IIP had already shrunk by a record 16.7% in March which saw seven days of lockdown

India’s industrial production contracted 55.5 per cent in April, the sharpest ever, as the Covid-19-induced lockdown almost froze economic activities. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had shrunk 18.3 per cent in March.
 
With an unprecedented lockdown in force for most of April, the government on Friday released only index numbers for industrial production, and the numbers cited above are derived from them.
 
The government clarified that the majority of industrial establishments had reported nil production, and cautioned that the numbers should not be compared with those of previous months.
 
“It is not appropriate to compare the