India’s industrial production up 29.3% in May as pandemic effects ease

Production during the first two months of the current financial year (April-May 2021-22) was at 68.8 per cent, figures released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation showed.

Six out of the eight core sectors that constitute 40 per cent of the whole IIP recorded growth in May. The core sector output grew by 16.8 per cent in May 2021.

Manufacturing sector output went up by 34.5 per cent while output in the mining and electricity sectors saw a jump of 23.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively.

However, the IIP in May was 13.9% lower than the pre-pandemic level (the same month in 2019). It also witnessed a sequential moderation in the wake of the localised lockdowns, suggesting a sustained industrial recovery is still far.

When compared with May 2019, capital goods production in the latest month was 36.8 per cent lower, hinting that the economy is far from recovering to pre-pandemic levels. Output in the capital goods segment, which is the key sign of investment in industry, rose by 85 per cent year-on-year in May.

Before this period began, it had slid by 4 percent in February and 9.6 percent in January, after growing by 1.5 per cent in December.

Consumer durables and capital goods stood out as the worst affected sectors in May 2021, trailing the pre-pandemic levels by 41.2 per cent and 36.9 per cent, respectively, according to ICRA.

These quick estimates will undergo revision in subsequent releases as per the revision policy of IIP.