Industrial output grows 4.9 percent in April

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s industrial output grew 4.9 percent in April from a year earlier, driven by a pick up in manufacturing, government data showed on Tuesday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast 5.2 percent growth in output compared with a 4.6 percent year-over-year increase in March.

Manufacturing, which contributes 78 percent of industrial output, grew 5.2 percent in April, up from a 4.7 percent rise in March, as domestic demand picked up.

The Indian economy grew 7.7 percent year-on-year in January-March, its quickest pace in nearly two years driven by higher growth in manufacturing, the farm sector and construction, data showed last month.

The figure surpassed China’s growth rate of 6.8 percent in the January-March quarter, confirming India as the fastest growing major economy and economists expect the growth to be robust in the 2018/19 financial year that began in April.