India's Industrial Output Hits 6-Month High at 5.2% in November 2024

India's industrial output, as gauged by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), increased to a six-month peak of 5.2 percent in November 2024, rising from 3.5 percent in October, according to data published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The factory production, as indicated by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), recorded a growth of 2.5 percent in November 2023.

The information published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) indicated that the manufacturing sector's production increased by 5.8 percent in November 2024, compared to 1.3 percent during the same month last year. In November 2024, mining production grew by 1.9 percent, while power generation saw a 4.4 percent rise. Industrial production rose by 4.1% in the April-November timeframe, in contrast to a revised 6.5% from the previous year.

“The IIP rose expectedly to 5.2% in November 2024, although it slightly trailed our forecast (5.8%), with the sequential uptick being broad-based across all three sectors, and all but one of the use-based categories (consumer non-durables)," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist and Head – Research & Outreach at ICRA.

Given the base effects related to the shifting festive dates, an average growth over October-November tends to provide a better gauge of the underlying momentum, said Ms Nayar. "By this yardstick, overall industrial growth was modest at 4.4%, driven by consumer durables (9.2%) and infra/construction goods (7.3%), with a distinctly lacklustre performance of primary goods (2.6%) and consumer non-durables (1.5%)."