The industrial output in March 2018 grew by 4.4 percent, which is the slowest in five months. The decline was a result of fall in production of capital goods and reduced mining activity.

The official data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) today showed that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in 2017-18 had decelerated to 4.3 percent from 4.6 percent in the previous fiscal. IIP measures industrial growth in India. IIP growth in March 2017 was the same at 4.4 percent.

Its last lowest recorded growth was in October 2017 at 1.8 percent. For the financial year 2017-18, it grew at 4.3 percent over the previous year.

The data classification showed that the production of primary goods grew at 2.9 percent, while capital goods output declined by1.8 percent. The infrastructure and construction goods category saw an 8.8 percent growth in March over last year.

Consumer non-durables showed a strong 10.9 percent growth, whereas consumer durables were down to 2.9 percent. The gold jewellery segment contributed highly to this drop as it contracted by 66.5 percent in March when compared to the same month in the previous year.

Manufacturing output was up by 4.4 percent over March 2017. Mining output grew by 2.8 percent, while electricity rose by 5.9 percent. 11 out of the 23 of the industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed positive growth; highest contributors to the growth being digestive enzymes, electricity, sugar and mining.