i Develop Stocks Advisory

India's Industrial Output Growth Probably Quickened in January India's industrial production growth probably accelerated to a three-month high in January as companies such as Nokia Oyj and Honda Motor Co. expanded capacity to make more mobile phones and cars. Production at factories, utilities and mines rose 8 percent from a year earlier after gaining 7.6 percent in December, according to the median forecast of 14 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The statistics office will release the data at noon in New Delhi tomorrow. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said last week that his budget plan to cut duties and reduce the tax burden on individuals will spur demand and boost manufacturing output in Asia's third-largest economy. Growth is forecast by the government to weaken this year to the slowest pace since 2005. Industrial production ``is rising on account of higher sales of consumer goods and stronger exports,'' said Sujan Hajra, chief economist at Anand Rathi Securities Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai. Honda Motor Co. last month doubled manufacturing capacity at a plant near the capital New Delhi to 100,000 cars annually. Honda plans to invest 20 billion rupees ($490 million) to set up a second factory in northern Rajasthan state. Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, plans to invest $75 million in 2008 to make more cellular phones in a nation where about one in five people own such products. ``India is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world and proximity to the customer is a business imperative,'' said Sachin Saxena, director of operations at Nokia India. ``India is poised to become the telecoms manufacturing hub of the world.'' Rising Incomes