Industrial output growth slows to 7.8 pc in 2010-11

However, the performance in March was an improvement compared to 3.6 per cent growth registered in February this year.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of the index, saw its annual growth fall to 8.1 per cent in 2010-11 from 11 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The sector has also shown poor performance in the month of March, with meagre growth of 7.9 per cent, compared 16.4 per cent expansion in the same month last year.

The mining sector also saw a decline in growth to 5.9 per cent in 2010-11 from 9.9 per cent in the previous fiscal. For March, the sector`s growth was a mere 0.2 per cent, compared to 12.3 per cent in the same month of 2009-10.

The capital goods segment was among the most affected as it grew by just 9.3 per cent in 2010-11, compared to a robust 20.9 per cent in the previous fiscal.

In March this year, the growth in capital goods production slowed to 12.9 per cent from 36 per cent in the same month of 2010.

During the last fiscal, growth of the electricity sector slowed to 5.6 per cent as against 6 per cent in 2009-10.

During March, the sector reported a growth of 7.2 per cent, compared to 8.3 per cent in the corresponding month of 2009-10.

Overall, 13 out of 17 industry groups achieved positive growth in March this year.

Production in the consumer non-durables segment went up by 2.2 per cent during the 2010-11 fiscal, as against 0.4 per cent in 2009-10.

The consumer durables segment grew by 20.9 per cent in 2010-11, down from 24.6 per cent expansion in 2009-10.

Overall, consumer goods output reported a rise of 7.5 per cent last fiscal, as against 6.2 per cent in 2009-10.

Intermediate goods reported a rise of 8.8 per cent during 2010-11, down from 13.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.