NEW DELHI :
India’s industrial output clawed back to positive zone by a notch in September after contracting for six months on the trot, indicating that the economy is staging a recovery.
Factory output expanded in September by 0.24% from the year ago period even as output of consumer durables such as cars and household appliances showed a small growth of 2.77% after 15 successive months of contraction, showed data released by the statistics ministry.
However, a sobering fact is that the improvement comes on the back of a weak base. Industrial output had contracted 4.6% last September, when consumer durables output had shrunk by 10.5%.
Capital goods output, an indicator of new investments, stayed in the negative zone but the extent of contraction seen in September, 3.28%, came down significantly from the 14.7% contraction seen in August.
With the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions, there has been a relative improvement in the economic activities by varying degrees as well as in data reporting, said an official statement.
