Industrial sector grows by 17.6 pc in April, FM wants more

Industrial sector grows by 17.6 pc in April, FM wants more

Even as industrial production expanded at a whopping 17.6 per cent in April, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday  said he was hungry for more.

"My appetite is infinite. I would have been happier, if it was 20 per cent," Mukherjee told reporters after official data released on Friday showed the industrial growth was at a 20-years high.

The growth in the industrial sector was fuelled by manufacturing that expanded by 19.4 per cent in April, particularly in capital and consumer goods.

Within, manufacturing, capital goods expanded substantially by 72.8 per cent in April.

"Capital goods (growth) I think, we are having it for quite some time", Mukherjee said.

He added the services sector was also expanding well and if monsoon stayed normal, then the overall impact on economy would be positive.

Consumer durables rose by 37 per cent against 17.6 per cent same period last year.

The other two sectors--mining and electricity--expanded by 11.4 per cent and 6 per cent in April, respectively against 3.4 per cent and 6.7 per cent in the same period last year.

According to the data, of the 17 industries, as many as 15 showed positive growth in April.

If the rising trend continues in the remaining months of this fiscal, the economy will easily meet the targeted 8.5 per cent growth rate in 2010-11, as agriculture is also expected to perform well on the likelihood of a normal monsoon.

Industrial production expanded by 17.7 per cent in December 2009.