India's industrial growth slipped to 7.1 per cent in June from the same month a year earlier, after expanding in double digits for eight months in a row, official data showed Thursday dpa reported
Economists in recent forecasts had said factory output in Asia's third-largest economy would rise by about 8 per cent.
The industrial growth figures, as measured by the index of industrial production, fell sharply from 11.5 per cent growth in May, the Commerce Ministry said.
A slowdown in the capital goods output growth also weighed on the June numbers. The capital goods output has been volatile in nature and in June it rose at 9.7 per cent, the report said.
But economists say the slowdown in industrial growth was not likely to impact India's growth projection of 8.5 per cent for the economy during the current financial year.
"We may possibly see some downslide in industry in the near future, but the agriculture segment is likely to go up," Yes Bank's chief economist Shubada Rao told the PTI news agency.
"GDP (gross domestic product) growth is likely to be on target," he added