Factory output shows flat growth at 4.5% in September

"This (the monthly trend in factory output data) broadly indicates that there has not been any significant acceleration in factory output despite waning of the impact of both demonetisation and implementation of GST," said Devendra Pant, Chief Economist at India Ratings.

Consumer durables output also remained unchanged at 5.2 per cent, despite the festive season. Consumer non-durables grew 6.1 per cent in September as compared to 6.3 per cent in the previous month.

"Seen against the backdrop of successive good monsoons and 7th pay commission pay out this suggests that consumption demand is still subdued. This is not a good sign, as the impulse of rising consumption demand is firstly felt by the sustained rise in demand for durables/non-durables and thereafter translates into demand for other industrial segment such as capital goods sector via intermediate and primary goods," Pant said.

Electricity production growth grew to 8.6 per cent in September from 7.6 percent a month ago. Mining activity was at 0.2 per cent in September from de-growth of 0.4 per cent in August.

"The improvement in the performance of electricity and mining was offset by the slip in manufacturing growth in September, 2018 relative to the previous month. The pickup in coal output growth following the waning of the unfavourable base effect, helped the mining sector to record a mild turnaround in September from the year-on-year contraction in the previous month," said Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist at ICRA.