The index of industrial production, which was negative in March, was positive in April - but just barely.
The previous low was recorded at 3.8 per cent in May this year.
Several fiscal and monetary incentives since December 2008 helped the industry to recover into a growth trajectory. The 10 per cent plus growth in manufacturing, basic goods, mining, electricity has been buoyed by these measures, Confederation of Indian Industry said.
Describing 6.8 per cent industrial growth in January as an indication of strong recovery, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said efforts will have to be made for promoting mining, capital goods and consumer durables sectors.
The NSE Nifty settled at 4,680, up 21 points. The market breadth was positive -- out of 2,867 stocks, 1,941 advanced and 853 declined on Wednesday.
The output of eight core sectors grew by 16.8 per cent in May, mainly due to a low base effect and uptick in production of natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity, official data released on Wednesday showed. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 21.4 per cent in May 2020 due to the lockdown restrictions imposed to control the spread of the COVID-19 infections. In March this year, these key sectors had recorded a growth of 11.4 per cent, and 60.9 per cent in April.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday said the country's wholesale price-based inflation and industrial production data should be improved and employment data availed for effective monetary policy management.
The poor performance of capital goods - a bellwether for future growth - has alarmed most analysts
According to the provisional figures, it could be the fourth month in a row and fifth month in the last fiscal that industrial growth may turn negative. However, after revision the provisional figures for October and January, which were negative, have turned positive.
Eight core sector industries recorded a growth of 5.5 per cent in February, the highest in 11 months, mainly due to healthy expansion in output of coal, refinery products and electricity, according to a government data released on Tuesday. The eight core sector industries -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- had expanded by 2.2 per cent in February last year.
Sluggish infrastructure sector growth would also have impact on IIP as these segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.
The print media industry is on a roll, if Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data is to be believed without a pinch of salt.
"Despite subdued growth in the world economy, India has maintained a GDP growth rate of 7.2 per cent in 2014-15, 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 and 7.1 per cent during April to September of 2016-17," the commerce and industry minister said in a written reply during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.
Pointing out that loosening cycle of monetary policy by RBI began only in October, Moody's said, it might not have led to an immediate rebound in domestic consumption. However, the RBI on Thursday stated that monetary measures taken by it were 'appropriate'.
The 30-share Sensex is down 359 points at 26,378 and the Nifty has dropped 78 points to trade at 7,883
Short-circuited by the lacklusture performance of electricity sector, the industry recorded a marginal slowdown in growth at 6.2 per cent in May this year compared to 6.4 per cent recorded in the comparable month of 2003.
The task force was set up in July 2011. Although the industrial production during March improved to 2.5 per cent, the factory output during 2012-13 worked out to be only 1 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent in the previous fiscal.
Driven by high growth in the manufacturing sector, the industrial production recorded a high 7.4 per cent growth in November 2003, compared to a mere 4.1 per cent in the same period previous year.
M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 6 per cent, followed by SBI, ITC, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and ONGC. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's were among the laggards. NSE Nifty inched up 1.40 points to its fresh closing record of 14,564.85.
In terms of industries, 10 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed positive growth during November 2018.
Large sectors such as metals, mining, machinery, and transportation have seen a decline.
India's Index of Industrial Production -- which measures industrial growth -- plunged to a dismal 1.6 per cent in December 2010 from 18 per cent in the same period a year ago due to the poor performance of the manufacturing sector.
India's leading infrastructure sector index grew by 4 per cent year-on-year in May, compared with growth of 5.6 per cent in the same period a year earlier, a government statement said on Tuesday.
Index of Industrial Production is expected to have grown by 1-2 per cent in April, D&B said in a research note, adding that the pace of improvement in consumption and investment demand is likely to take place as per the measures taken by the new government.
Within IIP, the capital goods sub-index has contracted for seven continuous months, suggesting investment demand continues to be weak.
There are some companies in the sector that have seen a decline in revenues but their performance is not sufficient to cause such a decline in industrial production data.
The NCEAR has indicated some improvement in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
India's industrial output rose by 10.3 per cent in October against 0.1 per cent in the same month last year.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 1,868 stocks advanced while 951 declined.
He stressed on the need to give more attention to the industrial sector.
RBI has been on a rate hike spree since March 2010.
Pulled down by the mining and electricity sectors, the Index of Industrial Production stood at 8.8 per cent during April 2005 compared to 8.9 per cent in the same month last year.
Retail inflation inches up to 3.77%; IIP growth dips to 3-month low
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The marginal improvement in the index of industrial production was mainly on account of higher power generation and mining sector output, while manufacturing declined.
Industrial growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in February, 2011, compared to 15.1 per cent expansion in the year-ago period, dragged down by poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors.
IIP is expected to post a subdued volume growth in February 2017
Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market surged to a 27-month high of Rs 83,114 crore at November-end driven by continued liquidity and improvement in second quarter corporate earnings. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt and hybrid securities -- increased to Rs 83,114 crore at November-end from Rs 78,686 crore at October-end.
Trading sentiment in the equity markets this week will be guided by global cues, Covid-19 trends and quarterly earnings by market heavyweight TCS, analysts said. Investors will also monitor movement of rupee and crude oil as well as progress of monsoon, they added.
There are glaring anomalies with Indian data and that could lead to wrong policy prescriptions.
The previous low at 1.8 per cent was recorded in October 2017.
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