New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- In 2023-24, India's manufacturing sector contributed 17.5% to domestic output (gross value added) at constant prices (i.e., net of inflation), as the National Accounts Statistics (NAS) show. In 2011-12, the sector's share was almost identical. It means that the sector has grown at the same 6% annual rate as domestic output, during this period. During 2004-05 to 2011-12, the average growth rate was 9.5%. Hence, over a longer span, industrial growth has decelerated.

However, the industrial growth numbers raise many questions, both statistical and substantial. When the current NAS series (base year 2011-12) was introduced in 2015, red flags were raised on the veracity of the revised GDP series, as the new growth estim...