Attributing decline in industrial output in November to statistical reasons, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday said the growth has already bottomed out and efforts taken by the government will yield fruits in coming month.

“This data does not contradict the proposition that the economy has bottomed out. It now needs to move upwards...you need to wait to see what December is like,” Ahluwalia told reporters here.

He was commenting on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data which showed that factory output in November contracted by 0.1 per cent compared to 6 per cent growth in the same month in 2011. During the April—November period of this fiscal, the IIP recorded a dismal growth of one per cent, down from 3.8 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago.

“In this particular case, we have to keep in mind that the base effect has operated in two different ways,” Ahluwalia said, adding the decline “is not a matter of surprise.”

On IIP decline in November, he said, “This year it (Diwali) was in November so what you have seen is a dip in November. This dip in (IPP in November) has to be actually compared to last year’s growth of 6 per cent.”

He expressed the hope that steps taken by government have given clear signals of growth in the last several months and would help in improving investment climate.

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