New Delhi, June 10 (Representative) India’s factory output grew 7.1 per cent year-on-year in April touching an eight-month high mainly on account of low base effect due to second wave of Covid pandemic.As per data released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday, the industrial production growth was led by all the sectors during the period under review. “For the month of April 2022, the quick estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 stands at 135.1 The Indices of Industrial Production for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for the month of April 2022 stand at 116.0, 132.5 and 194.5 respectively,” MoSPI said.
While mining sector grew 7.8 per cent in April, manufacturing sector expanded 6.3 per cent. Electricity sector grew 11.8 per cent year-on-year in April, 2022.”A 7.1% industrial production growth in Apr’22 was strongly supported by low base during the severe COVID-19 second wave. However, the sequential decline reflects the weakness in numbers,” said Vivek Rathi, Director-Research Knight Frank India.Rathi said that the strength witnessed in early high frequency indicators such as manufacturing PMI, GST collection etc. is not yet translating into industrial production.”Categorically, except for electricity, industrial production broadly remained lacklustre in April 2022,” he noted.According to use-based classification, primary goods segment witnessed a growth of 14.7 per cent in April while capital goods segment grew by 14.7 per cent.
Intermediate goods segment expanded by 7.6 per cent in April.Infrastructure/construction, consumer durables and consumer non-durables segments grew by 3.8 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively during April, 2022.Commenting on the IIP data, ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said that in terms of the use-based categories the clear laggards were consumer non-durables and infra/construction goods, with YoY growths of 0.3% and 3.8%, respectively.”However, these are amongst the categories that were less affected by the second wave of Covid 19 in April 2021,” she said.”When compared with the pre-covid level of April 2019, the IIP was 6.8% higher in April 2022, with a double digit growth in intermediate, infrastructure and primary goods, amidst a flattish performance of consumer non-durables, and an unpalatable contraction in capital goods and consumer durables,” noted Nair.