India’s eight core sectors record 6.8% growth in Nov

The Dollar Business Bureau

Eight core sectors of the economy witnessed a growth of 6.8% in the month of November 2017, mainly supported by a strong performance in sectors such as steel, refinery and cement, according to an official data.

The combined index of eight core industries stands at 123.9 in November, 2017, which was 6.8% higher as compared to the index of November, 2016,” said a statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The cumulative growth of these infrastructure sectors was 3.9% during the April-November period the fiscal 2017-18 compared to 5.3% during the same period in the previous fiscal.

The eight core industries - coal, refinery products, cement, crude oil, natural gas, fertilisers, electricity and steel - had recorded a growth of 3.2% in November 2016.

The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The output of cement, steel and refinery products rose by 17.3%, 16.6% and 8.2%, respectively on year-on-year basis, according to the data.

The output in the segments of natural gas and crude oil also recorded a positive growth of 2.4% and 0.2% respectively, during the said month.

Electricity generation recorded a growth of 1.9%, while fertilizer production increased by 0.3% in November, 2017 over the previous year.

However, coal production recorded a decline of 0.2% during the month under review.

“Steel and cement growth at very high rates of 16.6% and 17.3% indicate restoration of the production in these sectors over pre-demonetisation levels. Augurs well for real sector investment,” Subhas Chandra Garg, Economic Affairs Secretary said in a tweet.