Sunday, 14 May 2017

New IIP, WPI series introduced, show overall benign macronumbers

New IIP, WPI series introduced, show overall benign macronumbers

The new-look index of industrial production (IIP) and the wholesale price index (WPI), which were declared on Friday and have been built on the new series of data, paint a healthier picture of the Indian economy in 2016-17 than the old series did. However, the impact of demonetisation still persisted(कायम) on industrial production, particularly manufacturing, which declined in March over February. Besides, investments are yet to pick up. The base year for the indices in the new series has shifted to 2011-12, against the earlier 2004-05. The series has been revised after eight years. “Our attempt will be to revise the series more frequently now. The technical review committeehas been established to ensure the series remains relevant by identifying new items. It will meet at least once a year,” Chief Statistician T C A Anant told reporters.

Showing a brighter (उज्जवल) side, the IIP data on new series showed that in none of the months in 2016-17 did the IIP contract, while it declined in six months — April, July, August, October, December, and February — in the old series. The new series of the IIP shows higher growth rates in most months in the period April 2012 to March 2017 than was the case when the computation was done in accordance with the old series. This is attributable to the base shift, increase in the number of factories in the panel for the reporting data and