Core sector growth up 3.2% in August

Growth in the eight core sectors rose by 3.2 % in August mainly due to key sectors like steel and fertilizers, which showed the highest growth. The output growth for July was revised down to 3% from 3.2% announced earlier, the data showed. Cement production grew 3.1% year-on-year in August, faster than a 1.4% rise in the previous month, while fertiliser output grew 5.7% compared

with a 4.3% contraction in July. Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday shows that growth in the eight core industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - had a cumulative growth of 4.5 % in the months leading up to August in the current financial year.

The sectors which comprise nearly 38% of India's total industrial production, had a higher/lower growth of 2.4% in the same period of the previous year.

Core sector growth had moderated to 3% in July after the 5.2% rise in June. Growth had risen to a 17-month high of 8.5 % in April due to rise in refinery products and electricity generation, but the sectors had later failed to sustain the growth momentum. 

Core sector growth up 3.2% in August The rise in the last month of June was the back of sharp uptick in refinery products and a sustained rise in coal production.

Core sector growth up 3.2% in August