NEW DELHI: After growing at a 20-month low at 0.1% in February, India’s factory output entered negative territory in March contracting 0.1%, signaling a slowdown both in consumption as well as investment activities. Data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday showed, manufacturing output with 78% weightage in the index of industrial production (IIP) contracted 0.4% in March while mining and electricity output grew 0.8% and 2.2% respectively. “On the supply side, the challenge is to reverse the slowdown in growth of agriculture sector and sustain the growth in industry," it added. The eight infrastructure sectors that constitute 40.27% of the IIP, however, had recovered to post a growth rate of 4.7% in March, marking a five-month high as production of steel and cement too grew at a robust pace. The Reserve Bank of India cut the policy rate by 25 basis points for the second consecutive time in April as concerns over growth loomed larger than those surrounding inflation.

Source: Mint May 10, 2019 12:11 UTC