The growth in eight core infrastructure industries moderated to 3.5 per cent in April on an annual basis after hitting a five-month low of 3.6 per cent in March due to a decline in the output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and electricity. The growth also eased from 9.5 per cent growth a year earlier. The production of fertilisers, steel, cement and coal increased in April over the corresponding month of last year, according to government data.
The growth rate in April 2023 is the lowest since October 2022 when the sectors expanded by 0.7 per cent. The coal production growth declined to 9 per cent in April this year, according to data released by Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Wednesday. The fertiliser production soared by 23.5 per cent, steel by 12.1 per cent and cement output by 11.6 per cent in April, the data showed.
The crude oil production declined by 3.5 per cent in April, 2023 compared to April 2022. The cumulative index declined by 1.7 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.
Steel production grew 12.1 per cent in April, the swiftest pace in three months, while fertilisers production accelerated 23.5 per cent, marking the highest growth in over a year. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors, including coal and electricity, accounts for nearly 40.27 per cent of the industrial output.
Electricity generation declined by 1.4 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022. Its cumulative index increased by 8.9 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of the previous year.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has further revised upwards January’s core sectors growth rate to 9.7 per cent, from its previous estimate of 8.9 per cent. January’s seven-month high growth has lifted core sectors’ overall growth through 2022-23 to 7.7 per cent from 7.6 per cent estimated earlier.
Separate government data released on Wednesday showed that India's gross domestic product or GDP grew by 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022-23, compared to a growth of 4.4 per cent growth in the previous October-December quarter. For the entire fiscal 2022-23, the economy's growth rate came in at 7.2 per cent, higher than the central bank's estimate of 7 per cent.
The index of eight core industries (ICI) measures combined and individual performance of production of core industries which includes coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity.
