The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors rose to a 14-month high of 12.1 per cent in August 2023 compared to 4.2 per cent a year ago, on expansion in production of coal, crude oil, and natural gas, government data showed on Friday. The core sector or infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors including coal and electricity, accounts for nearly 40 per cent of industrial output.
‘’The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 12.1 per cent (provisional) in August 2023 as compared to the Index of August 2022,'' said Ministry of Commerce and Industry on September 29.
The expansion in August is the highest since June 2022, when it was 13.2 per cent. The production of refinery products, steel, cement and electricity also grew in August, according to Commerce Ministry data. The core sector growth in July was 8.4 per cent.
In August, the petroleum refinery production increased by 9.5 per cent compared to the year-ago period. The cumulative index increased by 3.7 per cent during April to August, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year, according to the data.
Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights!" Click here!
Cement production, which has a weightage of 5.37 per cent, increased by 18.9 per cent in August, and coal having 10.33 per cent, increased by 17.9 per cent in August, according to government data.
Crude Oil production (weightage: 8.98 per cent) increased by 2.1 per cent in August 2023 over August 2022. Electricity generation (weightage: 19.85 per cent) increased by 14.9 per cent in August 2023 over August 2022. Fertilizer, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, and steel increased by 1.8 per cent, 10 per cent, 9.5 per cent, and 10.9 per cent, respectively.
The output growth of the eight sectors was also lower at 7.7 per cent in April-August 2023-24 against 10 per cent in the year-ago period.
