India's industrial growth hits 5-year high of 9.8%

The manufacturing sector, a key indicator of economic activity, grew 10.6 per cent year-on-year in October.

In a big jump, the October industrial production grew 9.8 per cent on an annual basis, riding on the back of a robust growth in consumer products and capital goods during the festive season.

IIP growth for September has been revised upwards to 3.84 per cent while it was -2.7 in October 2014.

The manufacturing sector, a key indicator of economic activity, grew 10.6 per cent year-on-year in October.

Electricity generation expanded 9 per cent and the mining sector was up 4.7 per cent.

"The general index for October 2015 stands at 181.3, which is 9.8 per cent higher compared with the level in October 2014.

"The cumulative growth for April-October 2015-16 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 4.8 per cent," said data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The growth in the consumer durables segment was a whopping 42.2 per cent in October over the same month last year. While the consumer goods category saw a growth of 18.4 per cent, consumer non-durables rose by 4.7 per cent.

The data further showed that capital goods segment grew 16.1 per cent while the expansion in basic goods came in at 4.1 per cent.

Some of the important items showing a high positive growth during October over the same month last year include gems and jewellery (372.5 per cent), sugar machinery (103.4 per cent), telephone instruments including mobile phones and accessories (61.5 per cent), antibiotics and its preparations (38.5 per cent), and passenger cars (21.4 per cent).

Expressing relief, engineering exporters' organization EEPC India today said a similar feat is desperately required in exports as well.

According to the data, in terms of industries, 17 out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed a positive growth in October 2015 compared with the same month last year.

The industry group furniture-manufacturing has clocked the highest growth of 138.9 per cent, followed by 48.4 per cent in office, accounting and computing machinery and 47.5 per cent in radio, tv and communication equipment and apparatus.

In contrast, the industry group publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media has moved at the highest negative growth of (-)10.2 per cent, followed by (-)6.8 per cent in medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks and (-)2.9 per cent in coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel.