Date:12/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/12/stories/2005031202590300.htm

Back Industry grows 8% in Jan

Our Bureau

New Delhi , March 11

THE buoyancy in the country's industrial sector continues unabated, with the official Index of Industrial Production (IIP) notching up an annual growth of 8.4 per cent during April-January 2004-05, over and above a cumulative increase of 6.7 per cent registered over the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

The current year's cumulative growth of 8.4 per cent till January makes the current fiscal the best since 1995-96, when industry grew 13 per cent. Significantly, all the three major sectors constituting the `general' IIP have recorded higher growth rates in 2004-05, with `manufacturing' leading the way.

While manufacturing growth during the first 10 months of 2004-05 stood at 9.2 per cent (against 7.3 per cent in April-January 2003-04), the corresponding numbers for `mining' and `electricity' were 4.6 per cent (4.7 per cent) and 6 per cent (3.7 per cent), respectively.

During January 2005, industry as a whole grew by eight per cent (on top of a similar growth rate in January 2004). While the manufacturing index rose by 9.3 per cent (8.2 per cent), the corresponding growth rates stood at 1.9 per cent (8.7 per cent) for mining and 2.3 per cent (6.1 per cent) in the case of electricity. Clearly, the infrastructure industries — mining and electricity — are not able to keep pace with a resurgent manufacturing sub-sector.

As per the `use-based' classification of the IIP, the bulk of the growth is being driven by capital and consumer goods. The index for capital goods has soared by 10.6 per cent in January 2005 and 12.9 per cent during April-January 2004-05, against the corresponding year-on-year growth rates of 15.5 per cent for January 2004 and 10.7 per cent for April-January 2003-04.

During January 2005, the annual growth rate for consumer durables was estimated at 13.2 per cent (against 16.2 per cent in January 2004), while the same for consumer non-durables was 15.6 per cent (5.1 per cent), for basic goods at 5.3 per cent (7.4 per cent), and for intermediate goods at 1.8 per cent (6.9 per cent).

For April-January 2004-05, the cumulative year-on-year growth amounted to 15.3 per cent (9.8 per cent during April-January 2003-04) for consumer durables,.

It was 10.6 per cent (seven per cent) for consumer non-durables, 5.9 per cent (4.8 per cent) for basic goods and 6.3 per cent (6.5 per cent) for intermediate goods.