India’s eight industries designated as ‘core sectors’ recorded a growth of 7.8 percent in November last year, the lowest in six months, according to data released by India’s ministry of commerce and industries on Monday, January 2.
During the April-November period of the fiscal year 2023-24, the core sector industries registered a growth of 8.6 percent, against 8.1 percent in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The eight core sector industries are coal, crude oil, steel, cement, electricity, fertilizers, refinery products, and natural gas.
The fall in core sector growth in November was largely due to the cement sector, whose output contracted by 3.6 percent year-on-year after it had jumped by a huge 17.4 percent in October.
In November, coal output was up 10.9 percent as against 18.4 percent in October, crude oil was down 0.4 percent as against a growth of 1.3 percent in October, natural gas output was up 7.6 percent as against 9.9 percent, refinery products output was up 12.4 percent as against 4.2 percent, fertilizer output was up 3.4 percent as against 5.3 percent, steel output was up 9.1 percent as against 10.7 percent, and electricity output rose by 5.6 percent as against 20.3 percent, all compared with October.