Industrial output hits all-time high in Dec

IIP growth was fastest in 26 months at 7.8 per cent in December

- HIMANSHI BHARDWAJ

India’s industrial output rose to an all-time high under the current Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series (base year 2011-12) in December, rising at a 26-month high pace of 7.8 percent year-on-year, aided by healthy spikes in manufacturing, electricity and mining as well as an across-the board jump in all end-use segments for the second straight month.

At 170.3, the overall index reading was 7.3 percent over the November 2025 level with the manufacturing index, which constitutes 78 per cent of India’s industrial production, also hitting a series high of 169.9, 6.5 per cent above the previous month.

On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing grew 8.1 per cent in December, a tad slower than the 8.5 per cent in November. For the first nine months of 2025-26 (FY26), the manufacturing sector has grown 4.8 per cent compared to 4.1 per cent in the same period of FY25.

Base effects also helped lift December's IIP growth as the index had risen just 3.7 per cent in December 2024. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Office (NSO) revised upwards the November IIP growth to 7.2 percent from 6.7 percent estimated earlier.

Electricity output growth rebounded to an 18-month high of 6.3 percent in December, snapping a two month-contraction streak and lifting the year-to-date growth for the sector out of the red to a fractionally positive 0.5 percent