Industrial sector which began its growth movement with much fanfare at the beginning of the year, eventually got caught in the vortex of recession andslowdown and is likely to end the year 2000 at a growth rate of less than six per cent . Concerned over the deceleration, Prime Minister held an urgent meeting of his council for trade and industry in December for measures to reverse the tide. At the beginning of the new millennium, confidence of the Indian industry had risen to an all-time high with key economic parameters holding the promise of a strong economic recovery. According to latest estimates of the index of industrial production, the sector grew at a mere 5.7 per cent during the first seven months of 2000 and with prophecies of doom looming large, it would be far-fetched to assume a double-digit growth. Trade and industry bodies attribute the major reason for this pessimistic outlook to deceleration in the growth of consumer goods sector with non-durables production slowing down to 0.8 per cent in august from 5 per cent in April 2000. Though the situation is expected to alter, albeit marginally by the end of the year, it would still be insufficient to perk up the industrial demand. The industry growth is also marred by the piquant situation where despite the satisfactory agriculture growth, poor market prices for the crop has left the farmers high and dry resulting in slower growth in rural demand. Bureau Report