Production of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 7.9% in September – the highest in three months – on account of better show by coal, fertilizer, cement and electricity segments, according to official data released on Monday.
In September last year, the growth rate stood at 5.4%. It was 4.1% in August. The previous high was in June when the output expanded by 13.1%.
The production growth of eight infrastructure sectors – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity – was 9.6% during April-September this fiscal, compared with 16.9% a year earlier.
Output of coal, fertilizer, cement and electricity in September rose by 12%, 11.8%, 12.1%, and 11%, respectively.
Refinery products output rose 6.6% as against 6% in the same month last year.
However, crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively, during the month under review.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “A reason why India is being called a global bright spot is the strength of its core industries. Output of 8 core industries in September grew 7.9%.”
Commenting on the data, ICRA Ltd. Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said after two months of moderation, core sector growth rebounded to a robust 7.9% in September.
With this growth, “we expect the IIP (index of industrial production) to revert to a modest 4-6% y-o-y (year-on-year) rise in that month, from the unexpected contraction in August 2022,” she added.
The IIP data for September is expected to be released by the government in the second week of November.
The eight core industries contribute 40.27% in the IIP.
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