Industrial growth in June slips to 5.4%

A slowdown in the manufacturing sector pulled down India's industrial growth in June to 5.4 per cent from 8.9 per cent a year ago, but consumer sector nursed its way back to health growing 10 per cent.     

Growth in manufacturing sector, which accounts for over two-third of the Index of Industrial Production, fell drastically to 5.9 per cent from 9.7 per cent a year ago.      

Manufacturing exhibited a similar trend in the first quarter as well, growing by a poor 5.6 per cent compared with 11.1 per cent last year.     

The only silver lining was that consumer durables growth gathered momentum in June registering a growth of 3.5 per cent against a negative growth of 3.6 per cent last year, pushing up the overall consumer sector growth to 10 per cent.     

Electricity sector growth fell to 2.6 per cent against 6.8 per cent a year ago, while mining sector bounced back to post 2.9 per cent growth compared with 1.5 per cent.