Industrial production contracted by 1.2 per cent in February with a sharp dip in manufacturing sector.

In contrast, IIP grew by 3.27 per cent in January this year. It had also risen by 1.9 per cent in February last year.

“The cumulative growth for the period April-February 2016-17 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 0.4 percent,” said an official release on Wednesday.

While mining sector grew by 3.3 per cent in February, manufacturing declined by 2 per cent and electricity production expanded by a mere 0.3 per cent in the month as compared to February 2016.

Meanwhile, retail inflation rose marginally to 3.81 per cent in March from 3.55 per cent in February 2017. It was 4.83 per cent in March last year.

Consumer food price inflation however, eased to 1.93 per cent in March as compared to 2.01 per cent in February.