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Pointing to the ongoing slowdown in industrial performance, a new survey has found that there has been a significant rise in the sectors displaying contraction or negative growth in the third quarter (October-December) of the current fiscal.
A survey by industry body CII and ASCON has found that industrial activity in the October- December 2013 quarter remained subdued and grim, treading along the growth path of the previous (July-September) quarter.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, CII, said, “It is of utmost concern that the majority of segments in the basic, intermediate, and capital goods sectors continued to fall in the ‘low’ growth bracket during October-December 2013.”
According to the survey, there is a significant rise in the sectors displaying negative growth this year. As many as 31 of a total of 110 sectors (28.18 per cent) were negative compared with 21 sectors of a total of 101 sectors (20.8 per cent) in 2012.
It added that high growth sectors have shrunk to 10.90 per cent (12 sectors out of 110 sectors) in Oct-Dec 2013 from 18.8 per cent (19 sectors out of 101 sectors) in Oct – Dec 2012. “This continuous trend of slow and deteriorating industrial growth outlines the weakened economic health of the country,” it pointed out.
The survey also shows a slight dip in the number of sectors recording low growth at 52.72 per cent (58 sectors out of 110 sectors) compared with 56.4 per cent (57 sectors out of 101 sectors) in the same quarter of the previous year.
The percentage of sectors reporting excellent and high growth in the current quarter is at 19 per cent (21 sectors out of 110 sectors) compared with 16.8 per cent (17 sectors out of 101 sectors) in the same quarter previous year.
In the third quarter, high-tech electronics such as LEDs/LCDs, computer tablets, and the scooter and scooterettes segment recorded excellent growth. Tractors also recorded high growth reflecting improved performance of the farm sector, the survey said.
But at the same time, the continuing low/negative growth experienced in the capital goods reinforces the view that new investments are impacted.
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