Blasts cannot deter economic activity: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: The Government on Wednesday said the Indian economic growth story is intact and a dastardly act like the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai will not break the country's resolve to move forward.

"This kind of cowardly and dastardly act  will not break our will and resolve to move forward," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here.

A solitary attack cannot be a setback to economic activity all over India or even in Mumbai, Chidambaram said.

Serial bomb blasts ripped through suburban trains in Mumbai yesterday, killing at least 190 people and injuring over 600 others.

On Wednesday, life in the city returned to normal as train services resumed and schools and colleges remained open.

 Chidambaram said the country's economic growth story is intact with industrial and manufacturing growth remaining buoyant.

 Official data on industrial production released on Wednesday showed that the strong performance in the manufacturing sector pulled the overall Index of Industrial Production marginally up to 9.8 per cent during April-May of the current fiscal, compared to 9.5 per cent in the corresponding period of 2005-06.

Manufacturing shot up by 10.9 per cent in April-May this fiscal from 10.3 per cent last fiscal.

Chidambaram said investors continued to repose confidence in the Indian economy.