India’s manufacturing sector growth lower than world average

New Delhi (PTI) India’s manufacturing sector growth during quarter ended March 31 this year stood at 5.1 per cent, which is one-third of China’s factory output of 15 per cent and also lower than the world average of 6.5 per cent, according to a UN body report.

“..World manufacturing output grew by 6.5 per cent as compared to the first quarter of 2010,” United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) said in its report on ‘’World Manufacturing Production Quarter I, 2011’’.

The major contribution to such strong performance came from China - its manufacturing output grew by 15 per cent, it added.

The report said manufacturing output of the group of newly industrialised countries increased by 6 per cent, with India’s growth estimated at 5.1 per cent, Mexico’s growth at 7.4 per cent and Turkey’s at 13.8 per cent”.

The growth rate of other developing countries, including least developed countries, was below 5 per cent, it said, adding that negative growth was observed in Egypt and Tunisia, where manufacturing output fell by 8.9 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively during the January-March period.

According to the latest government data, the manufacturing sector growth in the country was recorded at 3.6 per cent each in the month of January and February. It improved to 7.9 per cent in the month of March.

Poor performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors has pulled down the overall growth of industry to 7.8 per cent in 2010-11 from 10.5 per cent in the previous fiscal.



The manufacturing sector, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of the index, saw its annual growth fall to 8.1 per cent in 2010-11 from 11 per cent in the previous fiscal.



The report also said, “The world manufacturing output has grown by 6.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year, which indicates a recovery from the recent financial crisis”.