Index of Industrial Production falls for 3rd straight month by 3.8% in October
New Delhi, Dec 12: Showing signs of economic slowdown, Industrial production shrank for third consecutive month in October by 3.8 per cent, mainly due to output fall in manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, as per official data released on Thursday.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, the factory output declined by 4.3 per cent in September and 1.4 per cent in August this year, while it grew at 4.9 per cent in July.
Factory output, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 8.4 per cent in October 2018.
During April to October, the IIP growth remained almost flat at 0.5 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent in same period previous fiscal.
The manufacturing growth rate declined by 2.1 per cent in October as compared to 8.2 per cent a year ago.
Power generation growth slipped sharply by 12.2 per cent in October, compared to 10.8 per cent in the year-ago period.
Mining output too fell 8 per cent in the month under review as against 7.3 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Capital goods production, which is a barometer of investment, declined by 21.9 per cent in October compared to 16.9 per cent rise in the year-ago month.
As per use-based classification, the growth rates in October 2019 over October 2018 are (-) 6 per cent in Primary goods, 22.2 per cent in Intermediate goods and (-) 9.2 per cent in Infrastructure/ Construction Goods.
The consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 18 per cent and (-) 1.1 per cent, respectively.
In terms of industries, 18 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during October 2019 as compared to the same month last year.
The industry group 'manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products' has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 31.3 per cent followed by (-) 27.9 per cent in 'Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers'.
On the other hand, the chemicals and its products have shown the highest positive growth of 31.8 per cent followed by 9.4 per cent in basic metals.
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Om Birla attends swearing-in of new B'desh PM, says India stands ready to support BNP govt
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, and said India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation.
Separately, the speaker called on the new Bangladesh prime minister and conveyed the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also handed over an invitation from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman to visit India, officials said here.
“Glad to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka today. India stands ready to support Bangladesh’s endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation,” Birla posted on X.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said in a post on X, “Prime Minister Tarique Rahman conveys his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi to the visiting India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in of the new government.
“Speaker Birla conveyed wishes and an invitation to India. Both leaders expressed optimism to work together for the well-being of the people of Bangladesh and India, pursuing a people-centric menu of cooperation.”
Birla also met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and other leaders on the sidelines of the event.
Led by Rahman, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats in the polls held on February 12, results for which were declared on February 13.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, registered its best-ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05 per cent votes.
Bangladesh had invited Narendra Modi to the ceremony, but the prime minister could not attend the event as he was scheduled to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on Tuesday.
On reaching Dhaka, Birla said the swearing-in of Rahman was an important moment that would strengthen people-to-people relations and shared democratic values between the two neighbours.
“Honoured to be in Dhaka representing India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by Tarique Rahman as the prime minister. It's an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people ties and shared democratic values between our two nations,” Birla said.
Birla was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials.
