Industrial output growth slows to 14-month low in October
NEW DELHI: The country’s industrial production growth slowed to a 14-month low in Oct, dragged down by a sluggish manufacturing sector and contraction in electricity and mining sectors.Data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday showed the index of industrial production (IIP) rose an annual 0.4% in Oct, lower than the upwardly revised 4.6% in Sept and below the 3.7% recorded in Oct last year.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for a bulk of the index, slowed to 1.8% in Oct compared to 4.4% in Oct last year. The electricity sector contracted 6.9% during the month compared with 2% growth in the same month last year while the mining sector fell 1.8% compared with an expansion of 0.9% in the year ago period. The statistics office said the slow growth of the factory output in Oct could be attributed to less number of working days because of a number of festivals in the month, including Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath.“While all the three production-based segments witnessed a deterioration, the surprise largely stemmed from manufacturing, wherein the growth in output eased to 1.8% from 5.6% in Sept 2025. The contraction in electricity and mining output expectedly widened between these months, with excess unseasonal rains (at 149% of Long Period Average in Oct 2025) weighing on these segments,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ratings agency Icra.The capital goods sector, a key gauge of investment activity, displayed soft growth, rising by 2.4% in Oct compared to an expansion of 5.4% in Sept. The consumer durables segment fell 0.5% in Oct compared to a 10% growth in Sept while the non durables sector contracted 4.4% in Oct compared to a 0.3% decline in Sept.
