New Delhi, May 14 -- The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted by 0.1% in March. This was against the consensus growth expectation of 1.2%. Also, it is after a gap of 21 months the index entered negative territory. Factory output is the closest approximation for measuring economic activity in the business landscape and the March figures therefore deserve attention. Signs of slowdown in the economy have been visible for quite some time now, and the latest figures exacerbate this concern.
In February 2019, growth in IIP stood at 0.1% and for the month of March, 2018 total growth recorded was 5.3%. Also, for the full year to March, factory output growth was at a three-year low of 3.6%. According to data released by the Central Stati...