Core infrastructure growth jumps to 8 percent in September

Eight core infrastructure sectors that include power, coal, steel and cement, posted an impressive 8 percent growth in September, government data showed Thursday.

Electricity generation that has 10.32 percent weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registered a growth of 12.6 percent during the month under review, data released by the ministry of commerce and industry here showed.

Cumulative growth in power generation in April-September period is 5.4 percent.

Coal output jumped by 12.5 percent in September year-on-year, while cement production surged by 11.5 percent.

Steel production increased by 6.6 percent, fertiliser output grew by 5.3 percent and crude oil production increased by a sluggish 0.6 percent.

However, the production of natural gas dropped by 14.1 percent during the month under review.