The Hindu Business Line : Industry grows 7.4 pc in Feb

INDIAN industry continues to ride a buoyant wave, with the official Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recording a 7.4 per cent growth in February 2004, over and above the year-on-year increase of 7 per cent during the same month of the previous year.

According to the latest IIP data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the manufacturing sector has grown by 6.7 per cent in February 2004 as against 7.1 per cent in February 2003, with the corresponding figures amounting to 9.6 per cent (7.2 per cent) for mining and 12.1 per cent (0.6 per cent) for electricity.

The cumulative growth for the industry as a whole during April 2003-February 2004 worked out to 6.7 per cent, compared with 5.8 per cent for the corresponding 11-month period of the previous fiscal. The growth rates for manufacturing, mining and electricity for this period were uniformly higher at 7.2 per cent (6 per cent), 5.2 per cent (5.6 per cent) and 4.5 per cent (3.5 per cent), respectively.

The "use-based" classification of the IIP provides an even more encouraging picture. Production of capital goods, which is a reliable proxy for level of investment activity taking place in the economy, in February 2004 went up by a impressive 24.7 per cent (5.1 per cent in February 2003). For April 2003-January 2004, the growth rate of capital goods amounted to 11.9 per cent (10.5 per cent).

The growth rates during February 2004 stood at 9.7 per cent (5.4 per cent) for basic goods, 5.7 per cent (6.4 per cent) for intermediate goods, 20.1 per cent (minus 8.3 per cent) for consumer durables and minus 2.6 per cent (13.4 per cent) for consumer non-durables.

For April 2003-February 2004, the cumulative growth rates were 5.3 per cent (4.8 per cent) for basic goods, 6.3 per cent (3.5 per cent) for intermediate goods, 10.7 per cent (minus 5.7 per cent) for consumer durables and 5.9 per cent (12.3 per cent) for consumer non-durables.