Industry grew 6.5% in Sept

New Delhi: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registered a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent during September 2003.

Quick estimates of the index, released by the Central Statistical Organisation here today, show that the 6.5-per cent overall growth (6.2 per cent for September 2002) has been powered by manufacturing, which has grown by 6.8 per cent (7.6 per cent).

The mining and electricity indices, too, recorded higher growth rates of 4.4 per cent (1 per cent) and 5 per cent (minus 0.4 per cent), respectively. For the April-September 2003 period as a whole, industry has notched up an overall growth of 5.8 per cent (5.4 per cent), with the corresponding first-half growth rates for manufacturing, mining and electricity at 6.3 per cent (5.5 per cent), 4.2 per cent (6.5 per cent) and 2.9 per cent (3.4 per cent).

The use-based classification of the IIP provides an even more encouraging picture. Production of capital goods, which indicates how much of the present growth is translating into fresh investments and thereby giving further impetus to the recovery, has gone up by 8.6 per cent in the first half. The index for capital goods grew by 9.1 per cent in September 2003.

During the first half of the current fiscal, the growth rates for basic goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables and consumer non-durables amounted to 4.6 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent. For September, the growth rates worked out to 5.9 per cent (1.8 per cent) for basic goods, 6.4 per cent (2 per cent) for intermediate goods, 8.2 per cent (minus 10.3 per cent) for consumer durables and 5.7 per cent (23.8 per cent) for consumer non-durables.

At a two-digit level, it emerges that the main drivers to the buoyant first half industrial performance have been transport equipment and parts (23.4-per cent growth), paper and paper products and printing, publishing and allied industries (17.9 per cent), beverages, tobacco and related products (15.1 per cent), wood and wood products and furniture and fixtures (14.1 per cent), basic metals and alloy industries (12.5 per cent) and food products (7.9 per cent).