Survey Sees Revival In Some Manufacturing Industries

Negating the doomsayers, certain industries have started showing signs of revival amidst the downtrend in the manufacturing sector in general. According to a survey by the Associations Council (Ascon) of the Confederation of Indian Industry for the period April-December 2001 as compared to April-December 2000, some of these sectors can be expected to pick up from the end of this financial year.

As per the survey, sectors like aluminium, cement, polyester filament yarn, transformers, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, lead and lead alloy and colour televisions are projected to record higher production during the quarter October-December 2001 as compared to the preceding six months.

At the same time, industrial sectors like steel and drugs and pharmaceuticals are projected to hold on to their growth rates of one per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in the October-December quarter as well.

The survey uses information provided by member companies of CII and the 109 associations affiliated to it. In most sectors, these companies and associations account for approximately 65 per cent of the total output.

However, many sectors like cold rolled steel strips, auto components, machine tools and textile machinery continue to show recessionary trends.

The latest Ascon Survey says that out of the 110 manufacturing industries covered, 28, or over a quarter, will show a decline in production during April-December 2001 as compared to the same period last year. Out of the 82 sectors which are projected to grow, 57 will report a moderate growth of 10 per cent or less, 17 will grow at 10-20 per cent and as few as seven will record an