Belying fears of a slowdown due to demonetisation, India's factory output rose 5.7 per cent in November compared to a contraction of 3.4 per cent in the same month a year ago, while retail inflation declined to 3.41 per cent in December from 3.63 per cent in the month before.
Factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) got a push in November 2016 due to better performance of manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors coupled with larger offtake of capital goods, considered a barometer of investment.
Following demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes announced on November 8, 2016, it was feared that cash crunch will hit all sectors.
According to data released by the Central Statistics Office today, IIP for the month of October last year was revised slightly upwards to a contraction of 1.8 per cent from provisional estimates of (-) 1.9 per cent released last month.
As per the data, IIP growth during April-November period this fiscal remained almost flat at 0.4 per cent compared to 3.8 per cent a year ago.
Manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew at 5.5 per cent in November compared to a decline in output by 4.6 per cent earlier.
However, during the April-November period the sector recorded a contraction of 0.3 per cent compared to a growth of 3.9 per cent.
Among the other two major sub-indices, electricity generation grew at 8.9 per cent in November compared to a meagre 0.7 per cent a year ago. Mining output grew 3.9 per cent in November compared to 1.7 per cent same month a year ago.
Capital goods production increased by 15 per cent in November compared to a decline in production by 24.4 per cent earlier.
As per use-based classification, growth rates in November 2016 over November 2015 are 4.7 per cent in basic goods and 2.7 per cent in intermediate goods.
Consumer durables and consumer non-durables recorded growth of 9.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively, with the overall growth in consumer goods being 5.6 per cent.
In terms of industries, 16 out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown growth during the month of November 2016 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
Retail inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, eased last month from 5.61 per cent reported during the corresponding period last year.
The fall in CPI was mainly due to a drop in the annual food inflation -- to 1.37 per cent in December from 2.03 per cent in November.
The CPI data revealed that the annual retail inflation for rural India was 3.83 per cent while that for the urban centres was 2.90 per cent. The annual food inflation was 2.06 per cent in rural areas and 0.15 per cent in the urban conclaves.
(With inputs from agencies)
