Green shoots in sight, India Inc gallops ahead

NEW DELHI: Led by autos, cement, fertilizers and consumer durables, one-third of the country���s manufacturing sector has reported high-to-excellent growth of up to 20% in the first quarter of 2009-10 fiscal, the CII-Ascon survey said.

The survey, which has a total of 77 manufacturing sectors, revealed that one-tenth of them have registered robust growth of over 20%. This includes production of industrial gases such as argon, nitrogen and oxygen, automobiles such as scooters, mopeds and multi-purpose vehicles.

However, more than one-fourth of the sector is still reeling under moderate growth of production of up to 10%. Of those reporting moderate growth in production include nylon yarn, polyester yarn, motorcycles, bus & truck tyres, groundnut oil and electric fans.

An area of concern is the significant increase in the percentage of sectors that have registered negative growth. ���While there are 18 sectors that moved upward to higher growth levels on a year-on-year basis, 23 have moved downward to lower growth. Of these, 18 sectors slipped into negative territory,��� the survey highlighted.

Among the sectors that moved into negative territory are transformers, electric two-wheelers, soya, electric motors, power cables and vanaspati.

���Amidst optimism that the worst may be behind us for the Indian economy, there are some major challenges, including the revival of Indian exports,��� said CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee. ���Inflationary expectations have not eased and in light of the weak rainfall, monetary policy must remain accommodative,��� Mr Banerjee added.