India's manufacturing sector saw a 2.7 percent growth in April this year, according to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) figures announced by the Ministry of Statistics on Wednesday.
The manufacturing industry, which is very important in the creation of quality job opportunities for the nation's upcoming graduates from universities and engineering colleges, posted a 3.4 percent increase from April last year. The growth also represented an improvement from March's 3 percent increase.
At the same time, the output in the power sector rose by 1.1 percent over the same span of time. The mining industry suffered, contracting by 0.2 percent, and that pulled down the total industrial growth for the month.
Going deeper into manufacturing, 16 of the 23 industry groups posted positive growth in April compared to a year earlier. The biggest contributors were manufacture of basic metals (up 4.9 percent), manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers (plunging sharply by 15.4 percent), and manufacture of machinery and equipment that experienced a strong 17 percent jump.
In the general metals category, items such as "Pipes and tubes of Steel," "MS blooms and pencil ingots," and alloy steel flat products were key contributors to the growth of the industry.
The capital goods manufacturing category that incorporates machinery used in industries saw its production increase remarkably by 20.3 percent in April. This category is an important measure of real investment within the economy and has a multiplier effect on employment creation and income generation in the future.
Moreover, manufacturing of consumer durables like electronics, refrigerators, and televisions grew by 6.4 percent during April, indicating robust consumer demand driven by increasing disposable incomes.
The infrastructure industry also posted a healthy 4 percent growth, led by large-scale government projects in progress in highways, railways, and ports.
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