the indian automotive sector is the bellwether of the countrys gdp while the tractor industry is the barometer of the rural economy prime minister narendra modi recently claimed while addressing at the inauguration of the golden jubilee of the institute of company secretaries that due to the governments economic policies post june 2017 passenger vehicle pv sales rose by 12 per cent commercial vehicle sales were up by 23 per cent and twowheeler sales grew by 14 per cent the tractor industry sales on the other hand grew over 34 per cent in the last few months the government implemented the goods and services tax gst the countrys biggest tax reform since independence on 1 july 2017 yes the various segments of the automotive industry experienced a positive growth postjune 2017 but can it all be attributed to the postgst impact and government policies or is it a mix of both natural factors and the centres policies also read indian auto sales festive demand gives a fillip to september vehicle offtake lets take a look at how the vehicle segments are panning out how postjune sales fared in july and august this year passenger vehicle sales grew by 1512 per cent and 1376 per cent compared to 1678 per cent and 1668 per cent in the same months last year commercial vehicle sales were up 1378 per cent and 2322 per cent 011 per cent and 153 per cent and twowheelers increased by 1373 per cent and 1469 per cent 1352 per cent and 2632 per cent respectively during these two months in 2016 both passenger vehicle and twowheeler sales were higher commercial vehicle sales growth was however marginal and even in the negative tractor sales at the same time rose 18 per cent in fy17 while unseasonal rains in fy15 and fy16 damaged rabi crops and led to a degrowth of over 10 per cent in both the years also read maruti suzuki is upbeat to post a doubledigit growth this year rs kalsi lower crop prices and a deficient monsoon also accentuated the rural crisis by delaying harvesting in addition lower outlays on the government schemes like the mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act affected rural demand and increased delinquencies impacting the credit flow to the agricultural sector according to the escorts management report a cyclical sector dependent on the monsoon and agricultural income to thrive the domestic tractor market has witnessed a robust growth in the current financial year fy18 especially in the months of augustseptember due to prebuying before the onset of the festive season this is an annual ritual that is witnessed yearly the sector had seen a decline in fy 2015 and fy 2016 and therefore also experienced a pent up demand this growth pattern is expected to be carried through october diwali with sales tapering off thereafter till the end of this fiscal meanwhile the centre had announced plans to enforce gst in june that led all the car manufacturers to reduce