Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. Propelled by Manufacturing, July Industrial Production Climbs 6.7 pc
In July of this year, industrial output in the country climbed northward by 6.7 per cent which is lower than the 8.8 per cent registered in the preceding month.
The growth was mainly attributed to robust performances in the manufacturing and electricity sectors despite a contraction in the mining sector.
According to a release from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector registered a 7.3 per cent growth while the electricity and gas sectors clocked a robust 8.7 per cent jump Year-on-Year (YoY).
In contrast, mining and quarrying sector contracted by 0.9 per cent in July of this year. This, it is important to note, is a big shift from the 10.7 per cent growth observed a year-ago.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth in July of last year (2025) was 5.4 per cent indicating a healthy acceleration in industrial activity for the current period.
Within the manufacturing sector, 19 out of 23 industry groups reported a positive YoY growth in July 2026.
The top three contributors to this growth were Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (22.2 per cent), Manufacture of electrical equipment (28.3 per cent) and Manufacture of machinery and equipment (12.1 per cent).
Specific item groups like auto components, spares and accessories, passenger cars and commercial vehicles significantly boosted the motor vehicles segment.
Similarly, `Electrical Apparatus for Switching or Protecting Electrical Circuits, UPS and Solid State Drives’ and `End Face Connectors for Optical Fibres and Cables’ were key propellants in the electrical equipment industry group.
Analysing the Index of Industrial Production by use-based classification, primary goods expanded by 4.1 per cent, capital goods by 16.1 per cent and intermediate goods by 10.0 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025.
Infrastructure/construction goods saw a 6.9 per cent increase, while consumer durables recorded a strong 10.5 per cent growth.
However, consumer non-durables experienced a contraction of 1.0 per cent during the same period.
India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Climb to Record High of USD 740.8-bn
The country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 11.475-billion to a fresh record of USD 740.803-billion in the week ended August 28 of this year, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The increase follows a rise of USD 12.422-billion in the previous reporting week, when reserves had reached USD 729.328-billion.
Here, the point that requires highlighting is that the latest figures mark the second consecutive weekly increase of more than USD 11-billion, taking the country’s forex stock to a new all-time high.
The country’s reserves had previously touched a high of USD 728.494-billion in the week ended February 27, before the escalation of the West Asia conflict.
The geo-political uncertainty put pressure on the Rupee and prompted the Reserve Bank of India to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales, resulting in a slide in reserves over several weeks.
The point to note is that the recovery has gathered pace since June, when the Reserve Bank of India had introduced concessional foreign exchange swap measures amid a sharp depreciation in the Rupee.
The initiatives have generated more than USD 136-billion in fresh flows.
Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), the largest component of India’s reserves, climbed up by USD 9.337-billion during the week to USD 600.67-billion, the country’s apex bank said.
Gold reserves also registered a significant increase, rising by USD 2.191-billion to USD 116.409-billion during the week, the Reserve Bank of India data showed.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), slid by USD 43-million to USD 18.18-billion during the reporting week, as per the Reserve Bank.
Shenu Agarwal Takes Over as SIAM President for 2026-27
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ashok Leyland Mr Shenu Agarwal has been elected as President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers for the 2026-27 term.
Mr Agarwal who served as SIAM’s vice-president in the previous term, succeeds Mr Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.
The Association has also elected Mr K N Radhakrishnan, Director and CEO of TVS Motor Co as vice-president for 2026-27.
The Association said that Mr Santosh Nair, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India will serve as SIAM’s Treasurer for the term.
India’s Kharif Sowing Area Two Per Cent Lower Than a Year Ago
The area under India’s kharif crop in the on-going season reached 1,086.31-lakh hectares (LH) as of September 4 as compared to 1,104.01-lakh hectares in the year-ago period, the Agriculture Ministry said in its weekly update.
The current year’s progressive area is still two per cent less than the season’s normal acreage of 1,104.46-lakh hectares.
After the country received 86 per cent of its average rainfall during June-August, the monsoon rainfall from September 1 to 7 has been 82 per cent of its long period average (LPA).
The major rainfall deficit states in September include Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh (AP), Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Here, an important point to note is that the government has fixed a production target of 176.16-million tonnes (mt) of foodgrains for kharif 2026. It includes 123.15 mt of rice, 8.41 mt of pulses, 31.04 mt of maize and 13.56 mt of nutri-cereals.
Among other categories, output target has been set at 28.93-million tonnes for oil seeds, 500 mt for sugar cane and 33.6-milllion bales for cotton.
The pace of sowing was slightly better last week, as farmers planted kharif crops on 15.21-lh during August 28-to-September 4 against 14 lh a year-ago, data showed.
