India’s industrial growth, long considered a key gauge of the country’s economic vitality, has begun to show signs of a worrying deceleration. The data for May 2025, registering a meagre 1.2 per cent yearon-year growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), marks the slowest pace in nine months. More than a statistical blip, this reading signals the onset of deeper structural and seasonal pressures that may weigh on the economy’s broader trajectory through the year.

At first glance, the headline number masks a mix of diverging trends within the industrial ecosystem. Manufacturing, the core of industrial output, expanded by just 2.6 per cent, continuing its descent from 3.1 per cent in April. More concerning is the simultaneous contraction in both electricity generation and mining ~ two foundational sectors that are typically more resilient to cyclical swings. The early arrival of the monsoon this year has evidently dampened energy demand........

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