The Hindu Business Line : Industrial output up 7.9 pc in Dec

INDIA Inc can afford to approach the Union Budget on an optimistic note, with the official Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registering an annual growth of 8.4 per cent during the first three quarters of the current fiscal, over and above a corresponding year-on-year increase of 6.6 per cent for April-December 2003-04.

The cumulative growth of 8.4 per cent till December 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 nine months of 2004-05 stood at 9 per cent (against 7.2 per cent in April-December 2003), the corresponding cumulative numbers for `mining' and `electricity' were 4.8 per cent (4.3 per cent) and 6.4 per cent (3.5 per cent) respectively.

During December, industry as a whole grew by 7.9 per cent (compared with a year-on-year increase of 7.4 per cent in December 2003). While the manufacturing index rose by 8.8 per cent (7.8 per cent), the corresponding growth rates stood at 2.9 per cent (5.6 per cent) for mining and 4.4 per cent (5.4 per cent) in the case of electricity.

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 14.4 per cent in December and 13.3 per cent during April-December 2004, as against the corresponding year-on-year growth rates of 13.1 per cent for December 2003, and 10.1 per cent for April-December 2003.

During December, the annual growth rate for consumer durables was estimated at 13 per cent (against 12.3 per cent in December 2003), while that for consumer non-durables at 11.6 per cent (3.1 per cent), for basic goods at 6.1 per cent (5.5 per cent), and for intermediate goods at 3.1 per cent (10.5 per cent).

For April-December 2004, the cumulative year-on-year growth amounted to 15.3 per cent (9.2 per cent during April-December 2003) for consumer durables, 9.8 per cent (7.3 per cent) for consumer non-durables, 5.9 per cent (4.6 per cent) for basic goods and 6.7 per cent (6.5 per cent) for intermediate goods.

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