The resulting pickup in consumer demand seems to have improved production activity. Industrial credit has also expanded since September 2003, although at a slower pace. Slower industrial credit expansion this year, in part, reflects the shift in corporate financing pattern in recent years with increased reliance on internal financing alongside increasing accent on external borrowing.
A significant feature of the credit growth this year has been the substantial flow of bank credit to the priority sector which showed an increase of Rs. 33,720 crore or about 16 per cent in the first  BIS Review 20/2004  1  10 months of 2003-04, for which data are presently available.