IIP growth slips to 5-month low of 4.1% in March; manufacturing slows

India’s industrial production growth slowed to a five-month low of 4.1 per cent in March, weighed down by subdued manufacturing activity and near-flat expansion in the power sector amid the Middle East crisis, reported PTI.Factory output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown 3.9 per cent in March 2025, according to official data released on Tuesday.The National Statistics Office (NSO) also revised February 2026 industrial growth to 5.1 per cent from the provisional estimate of 5.2 per cent released earlier.The previous low in IIP growth was recorded in October 2025, when output had risen just 0.5 per cent.Manufacturing sector output, which carries the highest weight in the index, expanded 4.3 per cent in March 2026 compared with 4 per cent in the year-ago month.Mining production growth improved to 5.5 per cent from 1.2 per cent a year earlier.Power generation rose only 0.8 per cent in March against 7.5 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year.For the full financial year 2025-26, industrial production growth remained nearly flat at 4.1 per cent compared with 4 per cent in the previous year.Within manufacturing, 14 of the 23 industry groups recorded positive growth in March 2026 over March 2025.The top three contributors were manufacture of basic metals, which grew 8.6 per cent; manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, up 18.1 per cent; and manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c., which rose 11.2 per cent.Under the use-based classification, the growth rates in March 2026 over March 2025 were 2.2 per cent in primary goods, 14.6 per cent in capital goods, 3.3 per cent in intermediate goods, 6.7 per cent in infrastructure and construction goods, 5.3 per cent in consumer durables, and 1.1 per cent in consumer non-durables.