Bengal finance and industry minister Amit Mitra on Saturday reeled off a raft of grim figures to point out that the “central narrative at the moment ought to be the economy instead of something else”.

Amid fears of a recession, Mitra told a news conference at Nabanna: “People are losing jobs.”

He was speaking a day after the Central Statistics Office released figures that showed factory output in June had tumbled to a four-month low and several captains of industry conveyed their concerns to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi.

The following are some of the economic numbers cited on Saturday by Mitra and this newspaper’s narration of the story that the figures tell:

Data: GDP growth rate falls to 5.8 per cent in January-March 2018-19, lowest in five years.

Meaning: The economy’s growth rate is slowing down.

Data: Industrial growth was 2 per cent in June 2019, down from 7 per cent in June 2018.

Meaning: One of the main drivers of the economy, the industrial sector, is generating a lower output.

Data: The index of industrial production was 1.2 per cent in June 2019, down from 6.9 per cent in June 2018.

Meaning: Reason for worry as the index reflects a growth dip in various sectors of the economy.

Data: Capital goods sector contracts 6.5 per cent in June 2019; it grew 9.7 per cent in June 2018.

Meaning: Companies are making fewer machines that produce other products.

Data: Manufacturing sector grew 1.2 per cent in June 2019 compared to 6.9 per cent in June 2018.

Meaning: The sector that creates the maximum employment by drawing people away from agriculture is hardly growing.

Data: New projects announced in April-June 2019 were 87 per cent lower compared with April-June 2018.

Meaning: People are not interested in setting up new projects, indicating lack of business confidence.

Data: Foreign Direct Investment fell 1.09 per cent in 2018-19.

Meaning: India’s losing its sheen as an investment destination for global players.