Powered by the high growth of the manufacturing sector, industrial growth touched 7.6 per cent during the first quarter of the current financial year as against 5.7 per cent during April-June, 2003.

According to the Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production, released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, the growth during June stood at 7.3 per cent as against 6.7 per cent during the same period of 2003.

The manufacturing sector grew by 7.9 per cent during the first three months of the current fiscal as against 6 per cent during the first quarter of last fiscal, the official estimates reveal.

During June, the sector grew by 8 per cent as against 6.9 per cent during the comparable period of 2003, the IIP figures show.

The electricity output, however, slowed down to 4.2 per cent during June as against 5.4 per cent during the same period of last year even though cumulatively during April-June it registered a growth of 5.8 per cent as against 4.2 per cent during the same period of 2003.

The mining and quarrying group grew by 6.1 per cent during the first quarter of current fiscal as against 5.6 per cent during the same period of last year.

It, however, registered a lower growth rate of 3.3 per cent during June, 2004, as against 5.7 per cent during the same month of 2003, the official figures state.

As per the "use-based" classification of the IIP, the growth rate during the first three months in basic goods stood at 4.6 per cent as against 4.4 per cent during the comparable period of 2003.

It grew by 2.9 per cent in June as against 5.5 per cent during the same month last year.

The capital goods and the intermediate goods registered double-digit growth of 14.9 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively during the first quarter as against 8.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent during the same period of last fiscal.