IIP grows 7.1% in June, lowest in 13 months

The country's factory output growth moderated to 7.1 per cent in June, the lowest in the last 13 months, largely driven by weak manufacturing output expansion and an adverse base effect. HT reports.

The country's factory output growth moderated to 7.1 per cent in June, the lowest in the last 13 months, largely driven by weak manufacturing output expansion and an adverse base effect — a statistical phenomenon that shows a decent growth appear modest when compared with a very high rate in the previous year.

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The Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the measure of factory output, had grown by 8.3 per cent in June last year.

Manufacturing output, which accounts for 80 per cent of IIP, grew by a modest 7.3 per cent as against 8 per cent last year. Mining output clocked a growth of 9.5 per cent as against 14.2 per cent, electricity generation expanded by 3.5 per cent cpmpared to 8 per cent last year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the numbers were below expectations. "I expected it to be a little better."

Economists expect the full- year growth to be around 9 per cent. "I will not conclude from the June figure that this is going to be trend for rest of the year," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.