<p>Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said quick decisions are needed to accelerate investments, especially in the manufacturing sector, a major drag on the country's economic growth. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Reacting to the quarterly economic growth data, Chidambaram said some numbers, especially a sharp drop in the growth of fixed investment, were a matter of concern. <br /><br />"Of course, the decline in the growth of fixed investment (0.7 percent in first quarter of 2012-13 as against 14.7 percent in first quarter of 2011-12) is a source of concern to the government,” the finance minister said. <br /><br />"It emphasizes once again the need to take quick decisions to accelerate investments, especially removing all bottlenecks to investments in the manufacturing sector,” he added. <br /><br />According to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the economy grew at a sluggish 5.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal in comparison to 8 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year owing to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and agriculture sector. <br /><br />Manufacturing grew at a sluggish 0.2 percent in the first quarter. <br /><br />The first quarter data is slightly better than the 5.3 percent growth registered in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) during the quarter ended March 31, 2012. <br /><br />“After the continuous reduction in the growth rate in successive quarters beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010-11, this is the first time when quarterly growth rate has exceeded the growth rate in the previous quarter,” Chidambaram said in a written statement. <br /><br />The finance minister said performance of construction sector was encouraging considering the overall scenario. <br /><br />"At the same time, there are also encouraging signs such as the growth of the construction sector at 10.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012-13 as against 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011-12,” he said.</p>
<p>Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said quick decisions are needed to accelerate investments, especially in the manufacturing sector, a major drag on the country's economic growth. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Reacting to the quarterly economic growth data, Chidambaram said some numbers, especially a sharp drop in the growth of fixed investment, were a matter of concern. <br /><br />"Of course, the decline in the growth of fixed investment (0.7 percent in first quarter of 2012-13 as against 14.7 percent in first quarter of 2011-12) is a source of concern to the government,” the finance minister said. <br /><br />"It emphasizes once again the need to take quick decisions to accelerate investments, especially removing all bottlenecks to investments in the manufacturing sector,” he added. <br /><br />According to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the economy grew at a sluggish 5.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal in comparison to 8 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year owing to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and agriculture sector. <br /><br />Manufacturing grew at a sluggish 0.2 percent in the first quarter. <br /><br />The first quarter data is slightly better than the 5.3 percent growth registered in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) during the quarter ended March 31, 2012. <br /><br />“After the continuous reduction in the growth rate in successive quarters beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010-11, this is the first time when quarterly growth rate has exceeded the growth rate in the previous quarter,” Chidambaram said in a written statement. <br /><br />The finance minister said performance of construction sector was encouraging considering the overall scenario. <br /><br />"At the same time, there are also encouraging signs such as the growth of the construction sector at 10.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012-13 as against 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011-12,” he said.</p>