Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India’s industrial growth, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose to a four-month high of 3.5 per cent in July, driven by a strong performance in the manufacturing sector, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on August 28. The industrial growth rate has accelerated in July from 1.5 per cent in June.
The data showed that the manufacturing sector, which provides quality jobs for the young graduates passing out of the country’s universities and engineering institutes, registered a robust 5.4 per cent growth in July this year over the same month of the previous year. Electricity generation recorded a marginal 0.6 per cent growth. However, the mining sector proved to be a laggard with a (-) 7.2 per cent contraction in output during the month due to the heavy monsoon rains, which affected production.
Within the manufacturing sector, 14 out of 23 industry groups recorded a positive growth in July compared to the same month of the previous year. The top three positive contributors during the month are “Manufacture of basic metals”, such as steel products, recorded a 12.7 per cent growth, the “Manufacture of electrical equipment” such as switchgear, circuit breakers, control panels and transformers, registered a 15.9 per cent growth while the third group of “Manufacture of other nonmetallic mineral products”, which includes cement, clocked a 9.5 per cent growth.
