At 6.7%, IIP growth hits over 2-year high

Gaining momentum

.The manufacturing sector rose by 8% in Nov, higher than 2% in Oct and above the 5.5% in Nov last year. The mining sector, which had been impacted by unseasonal rains, rebounded and rose by 5.4% in Nov, above the 1.8% contraction in Oct and higher than the 1.9% growth in Nov last year.The highlight for Nov was also the robust expansion in consumer durables and non durables sectors, which grew by 10.3% and 7.3% respectively. “On the demand front, the positive aspect was the improvement in the output of consumer durables and non-durables which grew by 10.3% and 7.3%, respectively, reversing the contraction seen in the previous months. Factors such as GST rationalisation, income tax relief, and easing inflation have boded well for the consumption scenario,” said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at ratings agency CareEdge.“On the investment front, there has been sustained healthy momentum in the growth of infrastructure/construction goods and capital goods output,” said Sinha.The capital goods sector, a key gauge of investment activity, rose an annual 10.4% higher than the 2.1% recorded last month and above the 8.9% expansion in the month of Nov last year.Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ratings agency Icra, said the impact of the US tariffs and penalties is likely to reflect across some of the manufacturing segments, partly offsetting the positive impact of the GST rate rejig. “However, electricity demand has expanded in Dec 2025 after a gap of two months, which should boost power generation in the month, auguring well for IIP growth in the month. We expect the IIP growth to ease to 3.5-5.0% in Dec, as the base effect normalises and the benefit from restocking wanes,” said Nayar.