Industrial sector grows by 17.6% but FM wants more

Even as industrial production expanded at a whopping 17.6 per cent in April, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday he was hungry for more.

"My appetite is infinite. I would have been happier, if it was 20 per cent," Mukherjee told reporters after official data today showed the industrial growth was at a 20-years high.

The growth in the industrial sector was fuelled by manufacturing that expanded by 19.4 per cent in April, particularly in capital and consumer goods.

Within, manufacturing, capital goods expanded substantially by 72.8 per cent in April.

"Capital goods (growth) I think, we are having it for quite some time", Mukherjee said. He added the services sector was also expanding well and if monsoon stayed normal, then the overall impact on economy would be positive.

Image: Pranab Mukherjee