India's industrial output declined 16.7 percent in March, mainly due to poor performance in mining, manufacturing and electricity because of a nationwide lockdown since March 25 over COVID-19, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Program Implementation on Tuesday showed.

According to the data, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by 2.7 percent in March 2019.

Manufacturing sector's output plunged 20.6 percent compared to a growth of 3.1 percent in the same month a year ago.

Electricity generation declined 6.8 percent as against a growth of 2.2 percent in March 2019. Mining sector's output remained flat compared to a growth of 0.8 per cent earlier, added the data.