Background

In India, the first official attempt to compute the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was made much earlier than the first recommendation on the subject came at the international level. The Office of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry made the first attempt of compilation and release of IIP with base year 1937, covering 15 important industries, accounting for more than 90% of the total production of the selected industries. The all-India IIP is being released as a monthly series since 1950. With the inception of the Central Statistical Organization in 1951, the responsibility for compilation and publication of IIP was vested with the same.

Base Revision

To capture the changes in the structure and composition of the industry over time due to the technological changes, economic reforms and consumption patterns of the people, it is necessary to revise the IIP periodically by changing its base to a more recent period. The IIP series in India has been revised from time to time shifting the comparison base to a recent period, by reviewing the coverage of items and industries and by improving, as far as practicable, with a view to reflect adequately, the industrial growth and structure. When the index was commenced in India, the base year adopted was 1937 and this was revised successively to 1946, 1951, 1956, 1960, 1970, 1980-81, 1993-94, 2004-05 and recently to 2011-12. Each time coverage as well as methodology were improved as seen in the Table below: