The Ninth Plan with its emphasis on Common minimum programme and Basic minimum services did not witness a very good industrial performance. The plan aimed at an annual industrial growth of 8 percent. But the performance of the industrial sector was far below the target and was the lowest [2.7 percent] in 2001-02, the terminal year.
During the first three years of the Ninth Plan, industrial production which slumped to 4.0 percent in 1997-98 recovered to 8.0 percent in 1999-2000. But in the terminal year of the plan it again slipped down to 2.7 percent. The slow-down was broad-based and took place across most industry groups, with particularly weak growth of only 1.2 percent in mining and quarrying in 2001-02.
Annual growth Rate of Industrial Production in Major sectors of Industry. [Based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)] Base: 1993-94= 100 (Percent).
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The prolonged slowness in industry was attributed to lack of demand growth, especially from rural areas for manufactured goods, pause in investment, cost of credit, easy availability of imports at lower prices and infrastructural bottlenecks. Tow business confidence and a dormant primary market with few new capital issues reflected the decline in manufacturing which had peaked to 13 percent in 1995/96.
India’s exports also did not do well in the 9th Plan except for two years and averaged less than 6 percent against the target of 12 percent. Growth was almost negative in 2001-02 reflecting the slump in world trade. The average industrial growth rate during the plan (1997-2002) was 4.5% as against the target of 8%.