Improvement in Manufacturing Keeps IIP Growth Steady at 5.2 Pc in Feb

India's industrial production grew 5.2% in February, mainly due to an improvement in manufacturing output, according to official data released on Monday.

The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded by 2.7% in February 2025, an official statement said.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) revised the industrial production growth for January 2026 to 5.1% from the provisional estimate of 4.8% released earlier this month.

NSO data further showed that the manufacturing sector's output growth accelerated to 6% in February 2026 compared to 2.8% in the year-ago month.

Mining production growth slightly improved to 3.1% compared to 1.6% recorded a year ago.

Power generation growth stood at 2.3% in February compared to 3.6% expansion in the year-ago period.

During the April-February period of FY26, the country's industrial production growth remained flat year-on-year at 4.1%.

Within the manufacturing sector, 14 out of 23 industry groups have recorded a positive growth in February 2026 compared to a year ago.

The top three positive contributors for February 2026 are Manufacture of basic metals (13.2%), Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (14.9%) and Manufacture of machinery and equipment (10.2%).

The corresponding growth rates of IIP, as per use-based classification in February 2026 over February 2025, are 1.8% in Primary goods, 12.5% in Capital goods, 7.7% in Intermediate goods, 11.2% in Infrastructure/ Construction Goods, 7.3% in Consumer durables and (-) 0.6% in Consumer non-durables.

In the industry group 'Manufacture of basic metals', item groups 'MS slabs', 'Flat products of Alloy Steel' and 'Pipes and tubes of Steel' have shown significant contribution to growth.

Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head - Research & Outreach, Icra, said, "ICRA expects the IIP growth to decelerate to 3-4% in March 2026, amid the unfolding adverse impact of the West Asia crisis on some manufacturing segments, both through the price and availability channels, as well as weaker electricity performance in the month".