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Industrial growth plummets to 1.3% in March

In a total slowdown industrial growth plummeted to 1.3 per cent during March to pull down overall growth for the fiscal 2000-01 to 4.9 per cent largely due to poor showing by manufacturing and electricity sectors.

Industry had grown by 8.3 per cent in March, 2000, and by 6.7 per cent during the whole of 1999-2000.

While mining sector recorded a negative growth of 1.6 per cent during March, 2001, from 2.9 per cent in the same month last year, manufacturing sector growth shrunk to a meagre 1.6 per cent from 9 per cent earlier, according to Index of Industrial Production released by the government on Friday.

Afflicted by the slowdown, the high profile consumer goods sector recorded a considerably lower growth of 2.6 per cent in March 2001, declining from 9.5 per cent in the comparable period of the previous year, mainly due to a negative 2.4 per cent growth in consumer durables.

A negative 4.3 per cent growth in capital goods sector during March this year also brought down the overall growth in the sector to 1.4 per cent during the last fiscal.

It had stood at as high as 6.9 per cent during the 1999-2000 financial year.

Reflecting the same trend, the basic goods industry fell to -1.4 per cent in March 2001 resulting in a mere 3.8 per cent growth for the whole of the last financial year.

A sector-wise analysis of the quick estimates shows the mining sector growing at 3.4 per cent during the last fiscal as against 1 per cent. The growth could have been higher but for a negative 1 per cent growth in the last month of the 2000-01 financial year.

As far as electricity output is concerned, it declined to 4 per cent during 2000-01 as against a growth of 7.3 per cent during the earlier fiscal.

Electricity generation had grown by a mere 1.5 per cent in March 2001 as against 6.7 per cent in March 2000.

According to the release, along with the Quick Estimates of IIP for March 2001, the indices for February 2001 have undergone the first revision and those for December, 2000, the second (final) revision based upon the updated data received from the source agencies.

Nine out of 17 two-digit industry groups have shown positive growth during the month of March 2001 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

While jute and other vegetable fibre textiles (except cotton) have shown the highest growth of 21 per cent followed by 17.6 per cent growth in leather and leather and fur products and 12.6 per cent in rubber, plastic and coal.

On the other hand, transport equipment and parts have shown a growth of -11.9 per cent followed by a growth of -11 per cent for wood and wood products and furniture and -9.2 per cent in Metal products and parts, except machinery and equipment, says the release.

PTI

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