India's eight core industries' output accelerates in February

India's eight core industries (ECI) on Thursday showed a rise of 5.7 percent in February, as higher output of electricity, cement and fertilisers accelerated production.

The select factory output index which represents major infrastructure sectors had risen by 2.9 percent in January 2016.

The index comprises 38 percent of the total weightage of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

According to the data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the combined index of ECI stood at 172.2 in February, which was 5.7 percent higher compared to the corresponding month of 2015.

Under the ECI, electricity, cement and fertilisers industries reported healthy output. However, steel production dipped in the period under review.

Electricity generation, which has the highest weightage of 10.32 percent in the IIP, augmented by 9.2 percent in February, as compared with the corresponding month of 2015.

However, steel production, the second most important component as per weightage of 6.68 percent, contracted by 0.5 percent in the month under review.

In contrast, distilling of refinery products, the third most important component as per weightage, increased by 8.1 percent.

Besides, extraction of crude oil, which has a 5.21 percent weightage in IIP, rose by 0.8 percent during last month.

Further, coal mining, with a 4.38 percent weightage, increased by 3.9 percent in February.

Cement production, which has a weightage of 2.41 percent, increased by 13.5 percent in the analysed month.

The sub-index for natural gas output, with a weightage of 1.71 percent, increased by 1.2 percent in the month under consideration.

Fertiliser manufacturing, which has the least weightage of only 1.25 percent, surged the most during last month. Its production increased by 16.3 percent.