NEW DELHI - India's industrial output rose a much slower-than expected 4.1 per cent in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday.

Analysts on average had expected growth to ease slightly to 6.6 per cent from January as global demand cooled, a Reuters poll showed. The February figure compares with January's provisional increase of 6.8 per cent.

Manufacturing output, which constitutes about 76 per cent of industrial production, rose an annual 4.0 per cent from a year earlier, the federal statistics office said.