Banking Bill set to sail through

Amid the gloom, the industrial production data for October denoting an 8.2% annual growth, contrasting with negative growth reported in five out of the first seven months of the fiscal – brought some cheer. While Chidambaram said the data indicated “green shoots in the economy”, many analysts saw it as a sign that the economy has finally turned the corner. The surge in the index of industrial production (IIP) was, however, enabled by the Diwali spending spree and a low base – the index had contracted by 5% in October 2011 and, hence, many discounted it as an “optical illusion” and drew attention to the high volatility of the IIP data.