Mixed show: Industrial growth slows to 3.4%, retail inflation nears 8%The country’s industrial output growth slowed to 3.4% in June, while retail inflation inched to nearly 8% in July, posing fresh challenges for policymakers, who are battling to revive growth and tame inflation.Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Tuesday showed industrial output in June rose 3.4% year-on-year from a decline of 1.8% in June 2013 and slower than the upwardly revised 5% expansion in May 2014.Separate data showed retail inflation rose 7.96% in July, compared to previous month’s 7.46%, largely driven by pressure on fruits, vegetables and beverages prices. Retail inflation is close to the Reserve Bank of India’s target of keeping it at 8% by January 2015.“Inflation uncertainty exists, given that the monsoon outcome, though improving is still below-normal. Under these conditions, inflationary expectations would tend to get embedded till the harvest season sets in,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE ratings.“Depending on the spread of rainfall, a clearer picture would emerge in September-October on the exact impact on output. Therefore, RBI is likely to maintain a cautious stance in the next policy too,” Sabnavis said in a note.Economists said although the factory data for June was disappointing but the overall picture showed some recovery, though not a significant turnaround. The Narendra Modi government has vowed to steer the economy out of two consecutive years of sub 5% growth.“Industrial growth too disappointed as it slowed to 3.4% in June after growing at 5% in May. However, its overall performance in first quarter of FY-15 is signalling a gradual recovery,” ratings agency Crisil said in a note. “Given the first quarter IIP growth and assuming that the construction sector grew at the same rate as in FY-14, industrial GDP is likely to have grown around 3.3% in first quarter of FY15,” the agency said.Electricity and mining posted handsome growth but manufacturing remained sluggish and continued to be a concern. The manufacturing sector rose 1.8% in June compared to a contraction of 1.7% in the same month last year.The electricity sector grew 15.7% in June compared to zero growth in June 2013, while the mining sector, which borne the brunt of policy delays, grew 4.3% compared to a contraction of 4.6% in June 2013.The consumer goods sector continued to remain sluggish and declined 10% compared to a contraction of 1.5% in June 2013, while consumer durables fell 23.4% in June compared to a decline of 10.1% in June 2013.The industrial sector has remained sluggish for a significant period due to a string of factors such as policy and regulatory delays, high input costs, slowing demand, investment and high interest rates. But the approval to a number of stalled projects is expected to steer a recovery in the months ahead and should augur well for the overall growth.Vocabulary:1. The synonym for the ‘high prices’ is: (a) inflation (b) depression (c) dearness (d) boom 2. ‘Something fixed firmly in something’ is:  (a) embedded (b) included (c) inclusive (d) studied  3. The opposite of the word ‘fast’ in the passage is: (a) sluggish (b) slow  (c) decreased (d) static 4. The noun form of the word ‘disappoint’ is:  (a) disappointed (b) disappointing  (c) disappointment (d) none of these