Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 29: India’s industrial sector recorded its slowest growth in four years, with the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) slipping to just 4 per cent for the financial year 2024-25, official data revealed on Monday.

Sequentially, the industrial output in March 2025 rose by a modest 3 per cent, but on a year-on-year basis, it reflected a steep decline from the 5.5 per cent growth witnessed in the same month last year. The slowdown was attributed largely to the underwhelming performance of key sectors such as manufacturing, mining, and electricity.

Adding to the concern, the government revised the February 2025 IIP growth figure downward to 2.7 per cent, from the earlier provisional estimate of 2.9 per cent.

This marks a significant dip from the 5.9 per cent growth seen in FY24. It also represents the worst performance since the pandemic-hit year of 2020-21, when industrial output had contracted by a sharp -8.4 per cent. In the interim years, growth had stood at 11.4 per cent in 2021-22 and 5.2 per cent in 2022-23.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) data further highlighted that manufacturing sector output expanded by just 3 per cent in March 2025, compared to a stronger 5.9 per cent growth in March 2024.

Meanwhile, mining production edged up by a mere 0.4 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent growth recorded a year ago. Power generation too lost steam, increasing by 6.3 per cent, lower than the 8.6 per cent rise seen during the corresponding period last year.

Experts noted that while the broader economic fundamentals remain stable, the sluggish industrial activity could pose challenges to India’s growth momentum going forward.