Indicating sluggishness in the economy, industrial growth fell to 5.6 per cent in May this year from 8.5 per cent in the same month last year, mainly due to the poor performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors.

Factory output in the month of April, as measured in terms of the index of industrial production (IIP), has also been revised downward to 5.7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 6.3 per cent, as per the new series with a base year of 2004-05.

According to data released here, industrial growth in April-May this year averaged 5.7 per cent, compared to 10.8 per cent in the same period last year.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the total weight of the index, grew by just 5.6 per cent in May, 2011, as against 8.9 per cent in the same month of 2010.

Similarly, the mining sector grew by a meagre 1.4 per cent in May, 2011, as against 7.9 per cent in the same month last year.

Another area of concern was poor offtake of capital goods, which grew by just 5.9 per cent during the month under review as compared to 15.8 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Growth in output of intermediate goods also registered a sharp decline to 0.9 per cent in May from 11.7 per cent in the corresponding year-ago period.

Overall, consumer goods saw lower growth of 5.4 per cent in May, 2011, as against 7.4 per cent in May, 2010.

The IIP performance is even worse as per the old series of index, with a base year of 1993-94, which recorded industrial growth at 3.6 per cent in May, 2011, as against 12.2 per cent in the same month last year.

The new series with a 2004-05 base was introduced in April.