IIP data dissapoints Pranab, says government committed to reforms

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee though disappointed by the industrial output figures for April, asserted that the government was committed to kickstarting the economy and boosting investor sentiment.

"I am disappointed ... we shall have to take some steps which signals positivism. Some of the steps have already been taken," Mukherjee said while addressing a meeting of public sector banks.

According to a government data released on Tuesday, India's industrial output grew by a meagre 0.1 per cent in April as the slump in manufacturing and mining sectors continued, dampening hopes of an early revival of economic growth.

Mukherjee said that the government has taken steps to encourage investment in long-term infrastructure through debt funds and relaxation of external commercial borrowing norms.

He added that while fiscal management was of high priority, regular tariff revisions would also be given attention.

The meagre growth in IIP data comes in the backdrop of a fall of 3.5 per cent in industrial production in March, the first such contraction since October 2011, when it shrank by 4.7 per cent.

Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had registered a growth of 4.1 per cent in February year-on-year.

The average industrial output growth for 2011-12 fell to 2.8 per cent as compared to 8.2 per cent in the previous year, according to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation.