India’s eight industries designated as ‘core sector’ recorded a growth in output of 6.7 percent in February this year, against 3.6 percent in January and 7.3 percent in February 2023, according to government data released on Friday, March 29.
The eight core sector industries are - coal, crude oil, steel, cement, electricity, fertilisers, refinery products, and natural gas.
During the April-February period of the fiscal year 2023-24, output growth was recorded at 7.7 percent, almost the same as in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Production of refinery products increased by 2.6 percent in February this year, against a negative 4.3 percent in the corresponding month of the previous year, electricity 6.3 percent against 5.7 percent, crude oil 7.9 percent against 0.7 percent, natural gas 11.3 percent against 5.5 percent, and cement saw an output growth of 10.2 percent against 5.7 percent in the same month of the previous year.
Output growth in steel was up 8.4 percent, lower than 8.7 percent in February 2023, and output of fertilizer declined sharply by 9.5 percent against a decline of 0.6 percent in February 2023.