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Highlighting the fact that the country''s industrial
growth has been 10.6 per cent in the first nine months
of 2006-07, the economic survey has pointed out that growth
would have been higher had it not been for the under-performing
sub-sectors of mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and
water supply.
The
impressive growth of the sector has been propelled by
a robust growth in the manufacturing sector, which has
continued to record double digit growth, year-on-year,
for seven of the first eight months of the year, the survey
said.
According
to the survey, year-on-year, the industrial growth of
10.6 per cent in the first nine months of 2006-07 is also
the highest recorded since 1995-96. Since 1951-52, industry
has never consistently grown at over seven per cent per
year for more than three years in a row before 2004-05,
it said.
In
this regard, the survey points out that the industrial
sector revived from a low of 2.7 per cent in 2001-02 to
7.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent in 2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively.
Thereafter it accelerated to over 9.5 per cent in the
succeeding two years, before hitting its current high
of 10.0 per cent in 2006-07.
The survey points out that the lower contribution of industry
to GDP growth, relative to services, in recent years is
partly because of its lower share in GDP, and fails to
adequately capture the signs of industrial resurgence
in evidence.
Impressive
growth notwithstanding, the survey points out that the
expected overall annual growth of industry in the Tenth
Plan period (2002-2007), at around 8.7 per cent, still
falls short of the targeted growth rate of 10 per cent
for the same period. It strikes an upbeat note however
by saying that given the sector''s recent performance,
the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) target of 10 per cent annual
industrial growth does appear achievable.
If the industrial sector is to sustain its growth rate,
the survey says, then
it is critical that infrastructure impediments, especially
those related to the power sector be removed.
Ends resurgence in evidence.
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