Upbeat govt revises GDP growth to 8%

The government on Monday revised the GDP growth rate for the 2009-10 financial year upward to 8 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.4 per cent on the back of improved performance of the manufacturing and services sectors.

"The growth rate of 8 per cent in the GDP during 2009-10 has been achieved due to high growth in manufacturing (8.8 per cent), financing, insurance, real estate & business services (9.2 per cent), transport, storage and communication (15.0 per cent), community, social and personal services (11.8 per cent)," the official data showed.

In addition, the GDP growth estimate for FY2008-09 has been revised marginally upward to 6.8 per cent from the previous estimate of 6.7 per cent.

The agriculture sector growth recorded 0.4 per cent growth in FY2009-10 after witnessing a 0.1 per cent decline in FY2008-09, the data showed.

In addition, the mining and quarrying sectors registered 6.9 per cent growth in FY'10, as against 1.3 per cent expansion in the previous fiscal.

Furthermore, electricity, gas and water production recorded 6.4 per cent growth in FY'10, compared to 4.9 per cent expansion in FY'09.

Indian economy on a firm wicket

The output of the six core infrastructure industries grew by a healthy 6.6 per cent in December, 2010, an indicator that the Indian economy is on a firm wicket.

The six core sectors -- crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel -- had expanded by 6.2 per cent in December, 2009.

The 6.6 per cent growth charted in December, 2010, is significantly higher than the 3 per cent expansion recorded in the previous month (November, 2010) and will definitely lift the index of industrial production (IIP) numbers for December.

Industrial output, as measured by the IIP, had sunk to an 18-month low of 2.7 per cent in November, 2010.

These core industries account for 26.68 per cent of the country's total industrial output. Petroleum refinery output grew by 8.3 per cent, while production of coal registered 3 per cent growth in December, 2010, data released by the Industry Ministry revealed.

However, growth in cement production slowed to 2.2 per cent in December, 2010, compared to 11 per cent expansion in December, 2009. Finished steel production grew by 11.2 per cent in December, 2010, from 9.6 per cent in the comparable period a year ago.

In addition, crude oil production witnessed a significant jump during the last month of the 2010 calendar year, rising by 15.8 per cent.

In comparison, crude output rose by just 1.1 per cent in December, 2009. During the first nine months of the current fiscal, the six core industries registered average growth of 5.3 per cent, compared to 4.7 per cent expansion in April-December, 2009.