Core sector growth up 3.2% in August

Massive growth in steel sector pushes up index but coal output plummets

Growth in the eight core sectors rose by 3.2 % in August mainly due to key sectors like steel and fertilizers, which showed the highest growth. The output growth for July was revised down to 3% from 3.2% announced earlier, the data showed.

Cement production grew 3.1% year-on-year in August, faster than a 1.4% rise in the previous month, while fertiliser output grew 5.7% compared with a 4.3% contraction in July.

Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday shows that growth in the eight core industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - had a cumulative growth of 4.5 % in the months leading up to August in the current financial year.

The sectors which comprise nearly 38% of India's total industrial production, had a higher/lower growth of 2.4% in the same period of the previous year.

Core sector growth had moderated to 3% in July after the 5.2% rise in June. Growth had risen to a 17-month high of 8.5 % in April due to rise in refinery products and electricity generation, but the sectors had later failed to sustain the growth momentum. 

The rise in the last month of June was the back of sharp uptick in refinery products and a sustained rise in coal production.