Recovering from the one-year low growth rate of 1% in February, India’s core sector growth accelerated to 5% in March 2017, on the back of a sustained growth in the steel and coal output, supported by a stable rise in natural gas production. According to that data released by the ministry of Commerce and Industry showed the combined Index of eight core industries stood at 202.9 in March, 2017, its cumulative growth during April-March, 2016-17 was 4.5%. The eight industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity - have a weight of 38% in the overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Among eight core sectors, Steel production having 6.68% weight jumped 11.0% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 increased by 9.3% over the corresponding period of previous year. Coal production having 4.38% weight rose by 10.0% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 increased by 3.6% over corresponding period of previous year.
Electricity generation having 10.32% weight advanced 5.9% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 increased by 5.1% over the corresponding period of previous year. The Natural Gas production having 1.71% weight surged by 8.3% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, while its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 declined by 1.1% over the corresponding period of previous year. Crude Oil production having 5.22% weight increased by 0.9% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, while its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 declined by 2.5% over the corresponding period of previous year.
On the other hand, Cement production having 2.41% weight declined 6.8% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, while its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 decreased by 1.3% over the corresponding period of previous year. Fertilizer production having 1.25% weight dropped by 0.8% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, while its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 increased by 1.8% over the corresponding period of previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 5.94% weight declined 0.3% in March, 2017 over March, 2016, while its cumulative index during April to March, 2016-17 increased by 5.4% over the corresponding period of previous year.
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