Why in news?
- Government data showed industrial production contracted again in December 2019,
- Retail inflation(CPI) surged to an almost six-year high of 7.59%.
- The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a negative growth of 0.3% in December in comparison to the same month the previous year, according to the National Statistical Office (NSO).
- The IIP had shown a positive growth of 1.8% in November, after three consecutive months of contraction.
- IIP contraction came largely on the back of a 1.2% slump in the manufacturing sector
- NSO’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data showed retail inflation had surged from 7.35% in December 2019 to 7.59% in January 2020, mostly due to costlier food items.
