New Delhi, Aug 9: India's industrial production growth slipped to a four-month low of 2 per cent in June, mainly due to poor performance of mining and manufacturing sectors, according to government data released on Friday.
Factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 7 per cent in June 2018.
The previous low in IIP growth was in February 2019, when it had inched up 0.2 per cent. Thereafter, IIP grew at 2.7 per cent in March, 4.3 per cent in April and 4.6 per cent in May this year.
According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, industrial output grew at 3.6 per cent in April-June quarter this fiscal, down from 5.1 per cent growth a year ago.
There was a slowdown in the manufacturing sector, which grew at 1.2 per cent in June 2019 as compared to 6.9 per cent a year ago.
Capital goods segment, which is a barometer of investment, saw a contraction of 6.5 per cent in June compared to 9.7 per cent growth a year ago.
Mining growth dropped to 1.6 per cent in June from 6.5 per cent in the corresponding month of the last fiscal.
The expansion in power generation sector stood at 8.2 per cent, compared to 8.5 per cent earlier.
As per use-based classification, primary goods segment grew 0.5 per cent, intermediate goods 12.4 per cent and infrastructure/construction goods (-) 1.8 per cent in June 2019.
Consumer durables and non-durables recorded growth of (-) 5.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively.
In terms of industries, 8 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during June as compared to the same month a year ago.
The industry group 'Manufacture of basic metals' showed the highest growth of 17.7 per cent, followed by 16.5 per cent in food products and 10.3 per cent in tobacco products.
On the other hand, the industry group Manufacture of paper and paper products' witnessed the highest negative growth of (-) 19.9 per cent, followed by (-) 14.3 per cent in 'Manufacture of furniture' and (-) 13.9 per cent in 'Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers'.
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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
