Manufacturing sector fares well in April-December period

Despite the continued global slowdown, the manufacturing sector in India is doing well, with 50 of the 127 sectors surveyed by an industry body witnessing excellent growth rate of more than 20 per cent in the first three quarters of the current fiscal.

A survey of 127 sectors by the council of associations (Ascon) of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) reveals that the manufacturing sector in India, which had slowed down over the past two years following the global recession, has bounced back. The CII-Ascon report reveals that the 50 sectors reported excellent growth of 39 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2009-10.

Last year, just 29 sectors experienced an excellent growth rate (described as more than 20 per cent). The number of sectors reporting 'high' growth of between 10 and 20 per cent fell to 22 from 27 in the April-December 2009 period, as many of them climbed to the 'excellent' growth category this fiscal.

''While an increasing number of sectors are showing excellent growth, many sectors remain in the moderate growth zone including some core sectors such as cement and steel,'' says Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, CII.

Sectors that witnessed excellent growth include automobiles, air-conditioners, natural gas, tractors and detergents, while utility vehicles, energy metres, alcoholic beverages, textile machinery and personal care products came in the 'high' growth category. Sectors such as steel, cement, fertilisers and machine tools grew by less than 10 per cent.

According to the CII-Ascon survey, 48 sectors showed moderate growth during the period (as against 55 in the same period last year) and seven reflected negative growth (11 last year).

Many of the respondents complained of constraints including indiscriminate import of second-hand textile machinery, high customs duty on textile machinery components and inverted duty structure on natural rubber and rubber latex.