NEW DELHI: The core sector growth moderated to 4.3% in March 2022 compared to 6% in February 2022 as five out of eight sector witnessed a slowdown during the month, according to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Coal production declined by 0.1% in March 2022 (compared to 6.8% growth in February), while crude oil output fell by 3.4% (compared to a decline of 2.2% in February). Natural gas (7.6% in March vs 12.5% in February), refinery products (6.2% in March vs 8.8% in February) and Steel (3.7% in March vs 5.9% in February) also witnessed a sequential slowdown in March.
However, fertiliser (15.3%), cement (8.8%) and electricity (4.9%) production registered higher growth in March than in February. The double-digit growth recorded by fertiliser output in March came on the back of a very low base.
Core sector growth, measured by the Index of Core Industries, computes the combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries - Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity.
Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The cumulative growth of the core industries during FY22 stood at 10.4% (provisional) as against the same period last year. In the last fiscal, the core sector industries had recorded a 6.4%.