Industrial growth fell to a meagre 3.3 per cent in July this year on account of poor performance mainly by capital goods, manufacturing and mining sectors, reflecting sluggishness in the economy.

Growth in the factory output, as measured in terms of the index of industrial production (IIP), had stood at 9.9 per cent in July last year.

During the April-July period of this fiscal, IIP growth stood at 5.8 per cent, as against 9.7 per cent in the corresponding four-month period last year.

Output of the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew by only 2.3 per cent in July compared to 10.8 per cent expansion in the same month last year, according the official data released today.

Production of capital goods declined by 15.2 per cent in July, in comparison to a growth of 40.3 per cent in the same month of 2010

The growth in mining production was 2.8 per cent in the month, down from 8.7 per cent in the same month last year.

Production of intermediate goods fell by 1.1 per cent during the month under review against a growth of 8.5 per cent in July 2010.

Consumer durables grew by 8.6 per cent in July as compared to a growth of 14.8 per cent in the corresponding month of last year.

However, electricity production improved witnessing a growth of 13.1 per cent in July this year as against a growth of 3.7 per cent in July, 2010.

Non-durable consumer goods (FMCG) production also grew by 4.1 per cent in July, compared to a decline of 0.9 per cent in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the industrial growth number for June this year has been maintained at the provisional figure of 8.8 per cent. However, the IIP numbers for April has been revised downward to 5.3 per cent as per the final revision from the previous estimate of 5.7 per cent.

The fall the industrial production numbers, as shown by the latest data, suggest continuation of the sluggishness in the economy, experts said.

The IIP had expanded by 5.9 per cent in May but there was brief revival in June with industrial production growing by 8.8 per cent.

India's economy grew by 7.7 per cent in the April-June period, the slowest in six quarters.

India Inc had attributed the slowdown to rising interest rates which have led to an increase in the cost of borrowings, thus hindering fresh investments.

The Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates 11 times since March 2010 to tame inflation. Headline inflation has been above the 9 per cent mark since December last year.