The Hindu : Pick-up in infrastructure

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 24, 2003

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Pick-up in infrastructure

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 23. Infrastructure growth picked up in 2002-03 with a 5.2 per cent growth, far better than the 3.5 per cent recorded in the previous year. The revival is largely due to a substantial growth in cement and steel sectors that rose by a steep 8.8 and 8.7 per cent during the year.

According to the latest data released here today by the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry, only electricity output remained stagnant while even crude petroleum output recorded a small growth of 3.3 per cent, oil refinery products rose by 4.9 per cent and coal output increased by 4.3 per cent.

The buoyancy in the steel and cement sectors is being attributed to the growth in construction and housing activities due to higher public sector investment. The performance was markedly improved compared to 2001-02 with steel having recorded a rise of 4.4 per cent as against 8.7 per cent this year and cement having risen from 7.4 to 8.8 per cent.

The performance of other sectors was also better than the previous year as crude petroleum output had recorded a decline of 1.2 per cent in 2001-02, while the petroleum refinery output was also lower at 3.7 per cent. Coal production was marginally higher as compared to the 4.2 per cent recorded last year.

The sector-wise analysis of the six infrastructure segments shows that growth rate in cement at 5.3 per cent in March 2003 was about 50 per cent of the 10.1 per cent rate in the same month last year.

Cement production is estimated at 11.3 crore tonnes in the last last fiscal with output in March pegged at 1.13 crore tonnes.

Even in finished steel, a similar trend was witnessed with growth in March this year at 5.3 per cent, which is less than half of the growth rate seen in the same month of the previous year. Overall steel output in 2002-03 was estimated at 34.4 million tonnes.

In the case of oil refinery products, the data show 10.2 per cent rise in March 2003 against a decline of 3.2 per cent in the same month last year.

Total production in 2002-03 is estimated at 10.47 crore tonnes, with 94.12 lakh tonnes produced in March alone.

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