Increased industrial output could mark 'end of slowdown': Pranab Mukherjee

After turning negative in the previous month, industrial production bounced back to a five-month high of 5.9 per cent in November 2011 led by a recovery in manufacturing, a development that may reverse the negative sentiments.

Encouraged by the good factory output numbers in November, the government said it would adjust the policies to sustain growth momentum.

"If this trend in the numbers continues, perhaps we can expect to have a better performance (during December-March)... We need to build on this recovery with a stronger performance in the remaining months of the current financial year. The focus will have to be accordingly adjusted," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

Factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew by 6.4 per cent in November, 2010. In October 2011, it had shrunk by 4.74 per cent.

During the April-November period of the current fiscal, IIP growth stood at 3.8 per cent compared to 8.4 per cent in the same period of 2010-11.

Encouraged by the increased industrial growth, the Planning Commission on Thursday exuded confidence that it would help improve the business sentiment and hopefully indicates an end to the slowdown.

"Clearly, the industrial growth of almost 6 per cent is a good change ... I think it hopefully indicates that slowdown in industry will basically come to an end during the third quarter (October to December) of the financial year," Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

However, industry chambers said the recovery in November must be seen with "caution" as the performance of critical sectors like capital goods remains poor and called upon the RBI to slash key interest rates at its next quarterly review of monetary policy on January 24.

"The rebound in industrial growth as per November IIP figures need to be seen with caution as some of the fundamental trends remain weak," Ficci president Harsh Mariwala said.