Coal, Power, Cement lead Infrastructural Growth: Economic Survey


Posted on 27th Feb 2015 05:51 pm by mohit kumar

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Compared to the sluggish industrial sectors' growth of 2.1 percent from April-December 2014, coal, power and cement in the infrastructure sector have registered double digit growth in the past few months, the Economic Survey for 2014-15 said Friday.

According to the report, the mining sector growth has turned positive while manufacturing growth continues to remain tepid, registering a growth of 1.2 percent in April-December.

The findings state that the low growth in manufacturing is mainly due to the high rate of interest, infrastructure bottlenecks and low domestic and external demand.

From April to December last year, the overall growth in eight core industries has improved marginally to 4.4 percent compared to 4.1 percent in the same period last year.

"Electricity, coal and cement boosted the performance while natural gas, fertilizers, crude oil, refinery products and steel accounted for moderation in growth. The improved performance in electricity is due to high growth in thermal generation, in coal mining due to higher production by Coal India Limited and captive mining and in cement due to capacity addition," the survey said.

Natural gas and crude oil production declined primarily owing to lack of major discoveries and "problem with old oil fields". The production of steel was also hit by the import of the metal while fertilizers contracted mainly because of non-availability of gas and similar capacity addition in the past few years.

The survey said the focus of the centre has been on resolving long pending issues like pricing of gas, establishing processes and procedures for transparent auction of coal and minerals and improving power generation and distribution.

In the power sector, steps were taken to increase power generation besides strengthening the transmission and distribution system.

"To improve the distribution of power, two new schemes have been launched namely Integrated Power Development Schemes and Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha," the report said.

According to the survey, to provide a big push to solar energy two new schemes - Scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects and Pilot-cum-Demonstration Projects for Development of Grid Connected Solar PV Power plants on Canal Banks and Canal Tops - were rolled out in December 2014.

On the transportation front, the Economic Survey said railways have listed key focus areas comprising capacity building, network modernisation, improvement in asset utilisation and productivity and improvement in the quality of services besides others.

Investments are being prioritized in important areas like Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), high speed rail, high capacity rolling stock, last mile rail linkages and port connectivity, the survey added.

In the road sector, efforts have been undertaken to resolve problems associated with projects which are yet to be completed and the setting up of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. for speedy implementation of highway projects in the north-east.

In the civil aviation sector, there has been a healthy increase in international passengers and the cargo handled at Indian airports during 2014-15.

"The major initiatives are implementation of PPP (public-private partnership) projects at four airports of the Airport Authority of India, setting up of greenfield airports and development of small airports in Tier II and Tier III cities," it said.

Did you know?Explore Trending and Topic pages for more stories like this.
0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Ajinkya Rahane out of IPL 2022, difficult to return to England tour - Report

Ajinkya Rahane Ruled out IPL 2022: By the end of IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered an

Indonesia: Terrible explosion in Indonesia's Mount Semeru volcano, shadow smoke all around

Mount Semeru, the highest volcano in Indonesia, suddenly erupted on 4 December 2022. Due to the e

Ukrainians are ready for Russia's nuclear attack: Food and water are already being kept in bunkers two weeks ago

Alexander Cadet, who lives in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, has built an underground room inside a shed

Bharat Nyay Yatra: BJP leaders angry over Arunachal not being in the route of Rahul Gandhi's visit, questions Congress

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is ready to start the 'Bharat Nyay Yatra' on January 14. This journe

Tough Bio-bubble for IPL: More than 750 staff from 14 hotels in UAE underwent corona test before players arrived; There will be 30 thousand tests in the entire tournament

BCCI is trying hard to save the second phase of IPL from Corona. During the league, UAE's VPS Hea

Petrol Diesel Price: Oil companies released the prices of petrol and diesel, know how much were today's prices

There has been no change in the prices of petrol and diesel by the government oil companies today

Iran-Israel conflict impacts 1,500 flights cancelled in four days; DGCA issues advisory on high-risk zones

The ongoing crisis in West Asia has disrupted air travel for a fourth day. The major upheaval, tr

Corona Threat: Cases of XBB increasing in the country, a new strain of Omicron knocked in nine states

The threat of corona persists around the world. These days Omicron's new subtype or substrain XBB

Is the Maoist organization behind the explosives found outside Mukesh Ambani's house? Mumbai Police is investigating

Investigation is still on regarding the explosives found in a vehicle outside the house of Relian

Mahakaleshwar: Service Sadan of 150 rooms will be built in the city of Baba Mahakal, and will be available at discounted rates

As soon as Shri Mahakal Lok became a reality, the number of devotees coming to Ujjain also increa

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash