Core sector output for December up 6%

India’s core sector, which comprises six key infrastructure industries, grew 6 per cent in December, compared with 5.3 per cent growth in the previous month. The growth, signifying a recovery in industrial manufacturing, was primarily led by an increase in the production of finished steel, cement and electricity last month.

The core sector growth stood at 0.7 per cent in December 2008, due to the economic slowdown.

The sector, which accounts for 26.7 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew 4.8 per cent in April-December period in the current financial year, against 3.2 per cent in the corresponding period of 2008-09, showed official data released by the commerce and industry ministry today.

“The data are on expected lines. We can expect double-digit growth in IIP numbers… The core data alone do not signify much and the recovery in the economy is more visible in IIP and other data,” said D K Joshi, principal economist at Crisil, a ratings agency.

Finished steel output and electricity grew 9.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, against a drop of 8 per cent and growth of 1.5 per cent, respectively, in the same month last year.

Crude oil production grew by 1.1 per cent, against a fall of 0.3 per cent in December 2008. Coal and cement output grew 2.5 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. In the corresponding month of 2008, coal and cement recorded growth of 11.2 and 11.6 per cent, respectively.

Only petroleum refinery products grew marginally by 0.9 per cent in December 2009, against 3 per cent growth in the same month last financial year.

In the April-December period, the output of crude oil and petroleum refinery products fell by 1 per cent each, compared with a 0.5 per cent decline in the year-ago period.

While coal and cement rose by 8.3 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, electricity and finished steel also posted moderate growth of 6 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, in the nine-month period.