Industrial growth sluggish (Sushma Ramachandran, South Asia Monitor)

IN the midst of all the political tremors over surgical strikes, the economic scenario appears to be on a much more even keel lately. The appointment of the new RBI Governor, Urjit Patel, was not only widely welcomed as a thoughtful decision, he also went ahead with a long-awaited rate cut earlier this month. Besides, retail inflation has moderated considerably while exports seem to be finally emerging out of the morass of the past few years.The latest news about the steep fall in the index of industrial production thus comes as a dampener in the midst of all other positive indicators. The IIP has fallen to a 10-year-low in the first five months of the current fiscal from April to August. It is a negative 0.27 per cent, the lowest since 2007-8. This is even lower than the level reached during the Lehman crisis of 2009.

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