Even with the government pulling out newer tricks from its hat every now and then to beat the slowdown and boost demand, the Indian industry continues to struggle, according to a survey by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The CII ASCON survey report for July-September 2013 quarter, released on Saturday, revealed that the number of low (0-10 percent growth) and negative growth industries continue to remain high, adding up to 84.61 percent of the 91 industries surveyed. This is an increase from 66.9 percent out of 103 industries surveyed in the same quarter last year.

According to the report, industries constituting the high growth category (posting 10-20 percent growth) fell from 29.1 percent in the same quarter last year as compared to 10.98 percent in the current year. Meanwhile, the number of units in the excellent growth category (posting above 20 percent growth) went up from 3.80 to 4.39 percent on a year-on-year basis, thus registering a marginal jump, the report shows.

Only four sectors – LCD/LED TVs, soya, rapeseed and mustard seed and hydroelectric – are in the excellent growth category, while 10 sectors (including scooters, electrical goods like refrigerators, washing machines, etc) come in the high growth sector. The low growth category includes 42 sectors (motorcycles, electricity, railways, alcohol and a few other electrical appliances like ovens, fans, among others), while 35 sectors (including cars, rubber and natural gas and power) are part of the negative growth category.

The report attributes the grim scenario to the unchecked fall in demand due to increased inflation, delays in approving policies, including goods and services tax (GST), direct tax code (DTC), and various others, difficulty in doing business, especially setting up manufacturing units owing to complex regulations and lack of adequate infrastructure.

“This continuous deterioration in the economy since the last fiscal is reflective of downbeat sentiment within industry,” CII director-general Chandrajit Banerjee said. “With economic slowdown showing no signs of bottoming out in the near future, industry is cautious in moving ahead. This calls for a concerted effort from policymakers to stay the course on reforms.

“No doubt, the government has reiterated its support to industry in (the) form of steps taken to accelerate rupee valuation, increase exports, rev up foreign investment, etc. However, the focus has to be on clearing projects and ensuring that once cleared, investments do take place.”

The government had taken a slew of measures to boost industry growth and domestic demand. These include the cabinet committee on investment giving approvals to 171 projects worth Rs 1.69 lakh crore and the finance ministry’s recent decision to infuse additional capital in public sector banks to make lending cheap.