By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JUN 12, 2021: INDIA'S industrial output for April fell 13 per cent over the previous month but jumped a whopping 134.4 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) on a low base as the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown hit economic activity last year, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) fell to 126.6 in April after witnessing a growth of 22.4 per cent in March when it stood at 143.4. The April figures were the lowest in seven months as the second wave of the pandemic and the consequent lockdowns once again halted production.

However, this jump in the factory output is partial data as the government has held back the release of complete IIP data due to the effect of State-imposed restrictions amid the second wave of infections.

Industrial output was also flat in April when compared to the IIP of the corresponding period in 2019 when it was 126.5 points.

"It may be noted that the nationwide lockdown and other measures implemented to restrict the spread of COVID-19 from the end of March, 2020, had led to a majority of the establishments not operating in April 2020. Consequently, there were many units which reported 'nil' production, affecting comparison of indices for the months of April 2020 and April 2021," the NSO stated.

The IIP for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for April stood at 108, 125.1 and 174, respectively.

As per use-based classification, the indices stand at 126.7 for primary goods, 82.4 for capital goods, 137.9 for intermediate goods, and 134.8 for infrastructure and construction goods.

Further, the indices for consumer durables and consumer non-durables were at 112.4 and 142.3, respectively.