Festival-heavy October pushes industrial growth to 13-month low of 0.4%

India's industrial output expanded just 0.4% in October, marking a 13-month low as manufacturing, mining and electricity generation slowed through a festival-heavy month. Official data released on Monday shows the weakest reading since September last year, when growth was flat.

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said the subdued print was partly shaped by the calendar. "The slow growth in the month could be attributed to less number of working days because of a number of festivals in the month, including Dussehra, Dipawali and Chhath," the ministry said.

Factory output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had risen 3.7% in October 2024. The National Statistics Office (NSO) also revised September 2025's growth to 4.6% from the provisional 4%.

The latest data shows manufacturing output rising just 1.8% in October, lower than 4.4% a year earlier. Mining contracted 1.8%, compared with 0.9% growth during the same month last year, while electricity generation fell 6.9% after expanding 2% in October 2024.

According to the ministry, lower demand in October 2025 and consequent decline in electricity generation was driven by extended rainfall season and comfortable ambient temperature across multiple States/UTs.

For the April–October period of FY26, industrial production growth slowed to 2.7%, down from 4% in the corresponding period last year.