Industry grew 6.5% in Sept

 The manufacturing and electricity sectors grew 6.8 per cent and 5 per cent in September, respectively. Mining output was up 4.4 per cent compared with September 2002.

 The quick estimates of the industrial index, released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), show the average growth in industrial production between April to September 2003-04 was 5.8 per cent as compared to 5.4 per cent registered in the first half of the previous fiscal.

 In the same period, the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about four-fifth of the total weight of IIP, grew 6.3 per cent against 5.5 per cent in 2002-03.

 The mining sector logged a growth of 4.2 per cent in April-September 2003-04, while growth in electricity output went down from 3.4 per cent in the first half of 2002-03 to 2.9 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal.

 As per the use-based classification, while consumer durables grew at a rate of 8.2 per cent, consumer non-durables grew 5.7 per cent in September 2003. Capital goods showed a growth of 9.1 per cent for September 2003.

 Basic goods grew 5.9 per cent in September and by 4.6 per cent for the period April to September 2003-04.

 Intermediate goods grew 6.4 per cent against the average of 4.2 per cent for the first six months of the fiscal.

 Eleven out of seventeen two-digit industry groups registered positive growth in September 2003, compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

 Paper and paper products and printing publishing and allied industries have shown the highest growth of 29.7 per cent followed by 25.2 per cent for wood and wood products -- furniture and fixtures. Transport equipment and parts comes next with a growth of 22.6 per cent.

 At the lower end, jute and other vegetable fibre textiles (except cotton) have shown a fall in production of 10.7 per cent followed by 7.8 per cent decline in cotton textiles production.