New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday voiced disappointment over the June industrial output data and said the government would try to remove hurdles in critical sectors like power and transport that impede growth.
"It is important to focus on the critical sectors, remove bottlenecks and give a fillip to production," Chidambaram said while reacting on the monthly data.
According to data released by the Central Statistics Office, India's industrial output dropped by 1.8 percent in June due to a 3.2 percent contraction in manufacturing production.
The factory output has contracted for the third time in the past four months. During the April-June period, factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has contracted by 0.1 percent.
Chidambaram said production would revive if there were new investments in "demand creating industries."
"Supply side constraints upon manufacturing and exports must be removed in double quick time. We intend to find practical solutions to the problems that impede higher production or output in the coal, mining, petroleum, power, road transport, railway and port sectors," the finance minister said in a statement.
