New Delhi, Jan 31 (FN Agency) India’s core sector comprising of eight key infrastructure components slowed down to 3.8% year-on-year in December 2023, as per data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. Core sector had recorded 7.8% growth in November last year. “The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8% in December 2023 as compared to the Index of December 2022. The production of coal, natural gas, steel, fertilizers, refinery products, cement and electricity recorded positive growth in December 2023,” an official release from Commerce Ministry said. The ICI measures combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilizers, natural gas, refinery products and steel. The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
As per the official data, cement production increased by 1.3% in December, 2023 over December, 2022 while coal production jumped 10.6% during this period. Crude oil production dipped 1% in December 2023. Electricity, fertilizer and natural gas increased 0.6%, 5.8% and 6.6% year-on-year respectively in December 2023. Petroleum refinery production increased by 2.6% in December, 2023 over December, 2022. Steel production increased 5.9% during this period. “The core sector expansion halved to a 14 month low of 3.8% in December 2023 from 7.9% in November 2023, with a moderation in growth across six of the eight constituents except fertilizers and cement. While crude oil output contracted, three other sub-sectors (refinery products, cement and electricity) recorded a sub-3% rise in December 2023,” said ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar. “Following the tepid core sector growth in December 2023, we project the IIP expansion for that month at a bleak 1-3%,” Nayar added.