New Delhi: India’s industrial output growth reached a four-month high of 3.5% in July, boosted by a stronger manufacturing sector and a steady performance in electricity. The data, released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday, shows that the index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 3.5% in July, up from 1.5% in June but still below last year’s growth of 5% in the same month.

The manufacturing sector saw a significant increase of 5.4% in July, faster than the 3.7% growth in June and above the 4.7% recorded in July last year. Meanwhile, the electricity sector continued to show positive growth, rising by 0.6% in July, a notable improvement from a 1.2% contraction in June. However, it was still below the 7.9% growth seen in July of the previous year.

On the downside, the mining sector contracted by 7.2% in July, although this was an improvement from the 8.7% decline in June. Last year, the mining sector had grown by 3.8% in July.

A key indicator of investment activity, the capital goods sector, showed a growth of 5% in July, higher than the 3% growth seen in June, but still below the 11.7% growth recorded in July last year.

In the consumer sectors, there were signs of recovery. The consumer durables sector grew by 7.7% in July, a solid increase from 2.8% in June, though slightly below last year’s 8.2% growth. The consumer non-durables sector, which had contracted for five months in a row, rose by 0.5% in July, recovering from a 0.9% contraction in June and a 4.2% decline in July last year.

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