New Delhi, April 30 (Mayank Nigam) Driven primarily by cement, coal, electricity and steel production, India’s core sector comprising of eight key infrastructure components grew 5.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March 2024, as per data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The growth in March is, however, slower compared to 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase recorded in February this year. “The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 5.2 per cent (provisional) in March, 2024 as compared to the Index in March, 2023.
The production of cement, coal, electricity, natural gas, steel and crude oil recorded positive growth in March 2024,” an official release said. Out of the eight components of the core sector, fertilizer and petroleum refinery production registered decline in the month of March this year. The ICI measures the 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 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). As per the official data, cement production increased by 10.6 per cent in March, 2024 over March, 2023. Coal production during this period grew 8.7 per cent year-on-year. Crude oil and electricity output increased 2 and 8 per cent respectively in March this year. Fertilizer and petroleum refinery production declined by 1.3 and 0.3 per cent respectively in March, 2024 on an annualised basis. As per the official release, natural gas production increased by 6.3 per cent in March, 2024 over March, 2023. Steel production recorded a 5.5 per cent year-on-year increase during this period.