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All Infrastructure Sectors except Fertilizers, Petroleum and Net-Telephony saw positive growth during the first quarter i.e. April-June 2005. The negative growth seen in net telephony in the Telecom Sector, is due to mass surrender of land line connections and preference for cell-phones. The growth rate during the first quarter has, however, come down in respect of Steel, Coal, Fertilizers, Petroleum and Telecom compared with the performance in the first quarter of the previous year. Also, barring Coal, Finished Steel, Fertilizers and Refinery production, all the other sectors exceeded their targets. This is revealed in the latest report issued by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation after reviewing the performance of the Infrastructure Sector, during the first quarter of current fiscal.
The Telecom Sector encountering a unique experience, witnessed a negative growth in addition in switching capacity minus 3.7 per cent, telephone connections minus 28.6 per cent, while cell-phone connections plus 27.7 per cent during this first quarter. In the first quarter of the previous year, it saw a growth of over 600 per cent in addition in switching capacity without much change in land lines while registering an increase of nearly 24 per cent in cell-phones. In Railways, the revenue earning freight traffic recorded a growth of 13.3 per cent compared to 6.1 in the previous first quarter. Same way, cargo handling at major ports recorded an increase of 16.3 per cent compared to 7.7 same period last year.
Fertilizer production, which witnessed a growth of 15.5 per cent in the previous quarter, reported minus 3 per cent growth during April-June this year. However, Cement production recorded a growth of 10.7 per cent compared to 3 per cent in the previous quarter. Civil Aviation, which witnessed a phenomenal growth of over 37 per cent in import cargo handling, nearly 21 per cent rise in passenger handling at international terminals and over 28 per cent increase in passenger handling at domestic terminals during the previous quarter, recorded much less growth in the first quarter of the current year, excepting in case of export cargo handling, which had risen by 11.4 per cent from 7.1 per cent. The Road Sector, which registered a negative growth of minus 16.2 per cent in the previous quarter, managed to record a positive growth of 9.4 per cent this quarter.
Another major Infrastructure Sector i.e. Petroleum which posted a positive growth in the previous quarter excepting in case of natural gas production, this time has reported a minus 0.7 per cent negative growth in crude oil production and minus 4.9 per cent in refinery production. However, it managed a positive growth of 2.7 per cent this quarter in natural gas production.
In case of Power, Coal and Steel, the growth percentage hovered around the same as the previous quarter i.e. between 6 and 8 per cent.
VKS/SR
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