Friday, July 13, 2012: Overview: Industrial output, after registering negative growth for two consecutive months, grew at 2.4 per cent in May 2012. Manufacturing and electricity sector grew at 2.5 and 5.9 per cent respectively. However, mining sector contracted for the third consecutive month and registered a negative growth of 0.9 per cent. Core industries output continues to remain weak. Unless some policy reforms are undertaken quickly to revive growth, given the depressed domestic and global macro environment we expect industrial output growth to remain weak in the near term.

 The industrial output grew at 2.4 per cent during May 2012. Industrial growth for the month of April 2012 was revised downwards to -0.9 per cent from 0.1 per cent reported earlier. For the first two month of FY13, industrial output growth now stands at 0.8 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal.

 Manufacturing output grew at 2.5 per cent in May 2012. Manufacturing growth for the previous month was revised sharply downwards to -1.2 per cent from 0.1 per cent reported earlier. Mining and Quarrying continued to tread in the negative territory and contracted by 0.9 per cent in May 2012. Electricity output grew at 5.9 per cent as against 4.6 per cent in the previous month.

 At a 2-digit classification twelve out of the twenty two industries in the manufacturing sector showed positive growth in May 2012. The industry group ‘Radio, TV and Communication Equipment and Apparatus’ showed the highest growth of 16.4 per cent, followed by ‘Machinery and Equipment n.e.c.’ which showed a growth of 13.7 per cent. On the downside, ‘Electric Machinery and apparatus n.e.c.’ witnessed a negative growth of 28.6 per cent followed by 14.9 per cent in ‘Furniture; Manufacturing n.e.c.’.

 Output of intermediate goods grew by 2.7 per cent in May 2012 after contracting by 1.6 and 1.7 per cent in the previous two months.

 Consumer goods grew at 4.3 per cent in May 2012. This is the fastest growth witnessed in 2012.