Led by a stupendous recovery in the manufacturing sector due to higher demand for consumer goods, industrial production growth accelerated to 7.8 per cent in June compared to 2.7 per cent a month ago.
This is the highest rate of expansion of IIP in the last 16 months, from February 2008.
Manufacturing sector, which accounts for two-thirds of the industrial production, recorded a growth of 7.3 per cent in June indicating return of consumer demand in the market.
Consumer durables and capital goods grew by 15.5 per cent and 11.8 per cent, respectively -- the strongest expansion in several months.
The trend in the first quarter, however, remained subdued at 3.7 per cent mainly due to lower production in the first two months of the period.
In the same month last fiscal, the industry grew by 5.4 per cent. However, the growth was 5.3 per cent in the first quarter a year ago.Commenting on the recovery of the industrial sector, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said, "I always expect the positive trend (in industrial growth) to continue. However, weak monsoon could have some negative impact on the overall GDP."
According to the IIP data, 12 out of 17 industrial segments during June recorded positive growth compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
However, despite better-than-expected IIP numbers, the stock markets continued to slip further into the red. The Sensex dropped 318 points to a low of 14,757. The index is now down 292 points at 14,781.
