New Delhi  - India's industrial output fell for the first time since 1993 as the effects of the global economic slowdown on the country deepened, media reports said Friday.

Industrial production shrank by 0.4 per cent in October, after expanding by 12.2 per cent in the same month last year, the NDTV network reported, citing data from the state-run Central Statistical Organization.

The decline was unexpected as industrial production had grown by 5.45 per cent in September and economists had projected an increase of over 2 per cent. India had last recorded a decline in output in April 1993, the report said.

"These figures are more disappointing than what we expected," Suresh Tendulkar, chairman of the prime minister's economic advisory council, told the PTI news agency.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 80 per cent of the index, registered a drop of 1.2 per cent in October from the 13.8-per-cent growth in the corresponding period last year.

The dismal figures came as the government had announced only a few days ago a stimulus package for the manufacturing sector, which included an across-the-board
4-per-cent cut in excise duty.

The overall decline was mainly on account of a fall in intermediate and consumer goods, the PTI report said.

India, Asia's third-largest economy, has been affected due to the global financial downturn.

Recently released data showed the country's exports declined 12.1 per cent in October - the first fall in seven years - owing to weak demand from the main markets in the US and Europe.

According to the Indian government, exports in October fell from 14.59 billion dollars to 12.82 billion dollars year-on-year, as tight credit conditions and the rupee's depreciation added to the slackening demand.

The data on industrial production had a dampening effect on the Indian markets. The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex dipped 1.51 per cent and was trading at 9,500-point levels around midday. (dpa)