The growth rate of India’s industrial output accelerated to 5.7 per cent in February after having slowed to 3.8 per cent in January, data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday showed.

The manufacturing sector, which provides jobs to young engineers and graduates passing out of the country’s universities, posted a 5 per cent growth rate during the month.

The mining sector production shot up by 8 per cent in February while electricity generation grew by 7.5 per cent.

Figures based on user-based classification showed that the output of consumer durables such as refrigerators, washing machines, and TVs posted a robust double-digit growth of 12.3 per cent which also appears to be a positive sign of demand for these goods picking up in a growing economy.

The output of capital goods, which comprise machines that produce goods and thus reflect the real investment taking place in the economy, posted a 1.2 per cent growth for the month.