IIP contracts 3.6% in February

India’s industrial production contracted by 3.6% in February, official data showed on Monday.

According to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), manufacturing sector output declined by 3.7% in February 2021.

Mining output slipped 5.5%, while power generation grew by 0.1% in the month under review.

The IIP had grown by 5.2% in February last year.

During April-February, IIP contracted by 11.3% compared to 1% growth in the corresponding period of 2019-20.

Industrial production has been hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March last year when it contracted by 18.7%.

The second Covid-19 wave poses fresh challenges to the country’s economic recovery.