Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the slowdown in industrial production during July this year was disappointing but hoped demand will pick up in the upcoming festive season.
“The slowdown (in industrial output) is disappointing,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
Chidambaram, however, expressed hope that industrial production would gain momentum on rising consumer demand during the forthcoming festival season.
According to government’s latest estimate, industrial output slowed down to 7.1 per cent in July this year from 13.2 per cent in the same month a year ago as higher interest rates forced consumers to cut spending on household items and automobiles, adversely affecting the manufacturing sector.