India’s industrial output rises 3.2% year-on-year in December 2024

India’s industrial production slowed down to a three-month low of 3.2% in December 2024, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 157.2 in December 2024, up from 152.3 in the same month a year earlier. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a growth of 3.9%.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 77.6% of the IIP, grew 3% in December, while the mining and electricity sectors recorded growth rates of 2.6% and 6.2%, respectively. The indices for these sectors stood at 143.1 for mining, 156.2 for manufacturing, and 192.8 for electricity.

Within manufacturing, 16 out of 23 industry groups posted positive growth compared to December 2023.

Based on the use-based classification, primary goods grew 3.8%, capital goods surged 10.3%, intermediate goods rose 5.9%, and infrastructure/construction goods increased by 6.3%. Consumer durables saw robust growth of 8.3%, while consumer non-durables contracted by 7.6%.

In December 2024, consumer non-durables output contracted 7.6% in December last year compared to a growth of 3% in December 2023.

The government has also revised the November 2024 industrial output figure to 5% from the provisional estimate of 5.2% released in the previous month.

The IIP growth has been volatile in recent months. Factory output grew by 3.7% in October, 3.1% in September, and remained flat in August.

During the April-December period of the current fiscal year, industrial production grew 4.1%, compared to 6.5% in the same period last year.