India’s industrial output increases by 0.1% in April
2012-06-12 [11:33:29 hrs] | |
India’s industrial output increased by 0.1% in April after it fell by 3.5% in March, this pace of growth suggests little bit of improvement of the economy after a slump in growth at the start of the year.
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| | | In the last three months of financial year ( Jan-Mar) 2011-12, economic growth slumped to its weakest annual pace in nine years, sparking calls for policy action from both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Indeed, infrastructure sector output, covering major industries such as mining and utilities that account for about 38 percent of industrial output, grew 2.2 percent in April, the same pace as March. Four of its eight components in the infrastructure data fell.
The median is a far cry from the average growth of more than 9 percent between December 2009 and June 2011 but is roughly in line with the findings of a purchasing managers' survey that showed India's factory sector picked up in April after two consecutive months of slowing growth.
January-to-March GDP figures showed that manufacturing shrank 0.3 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drag on the quarter's growth.
The government has blamed factors beyond its control, such as the euro zone debt crisis, for its economic woes. But corporate investment has slowed down as the government struggled for fresh initiatives on the economy.
Stubbornly high inflation, and high fiscal and trade deficits have led to comparisons with India's balance of payments crisis in 1991.
While the government has struggled for fresh policies to help boost the economy, the central bank is expected to cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent at a policy review on
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