NEW DELHI, April 16 -- India's factory output contracted the most in six months in February for the second consecutive month, even before the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy, signalling that the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have to continue supporting the recovery process even as retail inflation jumped to a four-month high in March.
The index of industrial production (IIP) shrank 3.6% in February, while retail inflation quickened to 5.52% in March, showed data released by the National Statistical Office on Monday. Both mining (-5.5%) and manufacturing (-3.7%) contracted in February, while electricity remained almost flat at 0.1%.
The data trend of the past few months reinforces the view that ...