Rise in India’s Industrial ouput by 13.6% in June 2021

India’s industrial production rose by 13.6 per cent in June, official data released on Thursday showed. According to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector’s output surged by 13 per cent in June 2021.

The mining output climbed 23.1 per cent and power generation increased by 8.3 per cent in June. The IIP had contracted 16.6 per cent in June 2020.

During April-June this year, the IIP grew by 45 per cent against a contraction of 35.6 per cent in the same quarter last year. Industrial production has been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic since March last year when it had contracted 18.7 per cent.

It shrank 57.3 per cent in April 2020 due to a decline in economic activities in the wake of the lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus infections.

“The growth rates over corresponding period of previous year are to be interpreted considering the unusual circumstances on account of COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020,” NSO said in a statement.

The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus infections on March 25, 2020.

With the gradual relaxation of restrictions, there has been a relative improvement in economic activities as well as in data reporting, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had said in a statement in November.

Earlier, the ministry had also given a disclaimer that it may not be appropriate to compare the IIP in the post-pandemic months with the data for the months preceding the COVID-19 outbreak.

The manufacturing sector had recorded a contraction of 17 per cent in June 2020. Mining sector output fell 19.5 per cent in the same month last year. The electricity generation had declined 10 per cent in June 2020.

The output of capital goods, which is a barometer of investment, grew 25.7 per cent in June 2021 as against a contraction of 37.4 per cent in the year-ago period.

Consumer durables manufacturing increased 30.1 cent in the month under review compared to a 34.8 cent decline in June 2020. Consumer non-durable goods production fell by 4.5 per cent in June this year whereas it had grown by 6.9 cent in the year-ago period.