NEW DELHI:The index of eight core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — rose by five per cent for the month of March as against 4.5 per cent in 2016 during the same period. The rebound in growth was primarily led by the robust expansion in the steel and coal output supported by a stable rise in natural gas.
Data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday also showed that the eight core industries had cumulative growth of 4.5 per cent in the last financial year. This was higher than the corresponding 4 per cent rise in the core sector in the year before of 2014-15.
The core industries, which contribute 38 per cent to the total industrial production, had expanded by 1 per cent in February 2017 and 3.4 per cent in March. The factory output was down 1.2 per cent in Februray 2017, lowest figure since October 2016. The expansion was recorded at 5.6 per cent in December 2016.
On the other hand, coal production increased following the slew of measures taken by the government in the sector. Bagging the second highest growth rate of 10 per cent, coal production has risen from the 7.1 per cent growth seen in the previous year. However, the position of both crude oil and refinery products also improved albeit slowly.