New Delhi, July 31 (Mayak Nigam) Driven by coal, cement and steel sectors, India’s core output comprising of eight key infrastructure sectors grew 8.2% year-on-year (YoY) in June 2023. The core sector had recorded 5% growth in May this year. Barring marginal dip in crude oil production, all other sectors recorded positive growth in the month under review. “The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 8.2 per cent (provisional) in June 2023 as compared to the Index of June 2022. The production of Steel, Coal, Cement, Refinery Products, Natural Gas, Fertilizers and Electricity increased in June 2023 over the corresponding month of last year,” said a press release from Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) measures combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). “With the boost seen in mining and electricity from a dryer-than-normal June, we expect the YoY IIP growth to print at 4-6% in June 2023, in spite of the moderation in the YoY performance of several available high frequency indicators,” said ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar. As per the official data, coal production (weight: 10.33 per cent) increased by 9.8% in June, 2023 over June, 2022. Natural gas production increased by 3.6% during this period. Crude oil production declined by 0.6% year-on-year in June, 2023. While petroleum refinery production increased by 4.6% in June, fertilizer production increased by 3.4%. Steel and cement production grew 21.9% and 9.4% respectively in June 2023. Electricity generation increased by 3.3% in June, 2023 over June, 2022.