)
After rising to almost 5% in February, the index of industrial production (IIP) fell to a five-month low of 2.1% in March. This resulted in the industrial production rising to 2.8% in 2014-15 against contraction of 0.1% in 2013-14.
Even as all the broader segments-- mining, manufacturing and electricity-- registered a growth in March, the consumer durables part of the manufacturing continued to show contraction.
Industrial growth in 2014-15 was same as in 2012-13. However, the growth was lower by 0.1 percentage points in 2011-12, which was marked down by a major slowdown in overall economic growth.
This showed that the secondary sector continued to remain sluggish in volume terms, even overall economic growth is estimated at 7.4% in 2014-15 against 6.9% in 2013-14. Overall economic growth slowed to 5.1% in 2011-12.
Industrial growth:
March '15-- 2.1% versus (-) 0.5%t in March '14
Mining-- 0.9% versus 0.5%
Manufacturing-- 2.2% versus (-)1.3%
Electricity-- 2% versus 5.4%
