The Hindu Business Line : Crude, electricity dent core sector growth in Sept

New Delhi, Nov. 13 In line with the disappointing industrial growth numbers, the infrastructure sector has posted a lacklustre performance in September, with crude oil production and refining among the key dampeners, according to latest Government data.

The six core industries registered a six per cent growth in September 2007, as against a 10.6 per cent growth posted during the same month a year ago. The growth for the April-September period of 2007-08 also dropped to 6.6 per cent, down from the 8.7 per cent in the comparable period of the previous year.

Among the six key infrastructure industries, which have a combined weight of 26.7 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), crude petroleum production put up the worst performance with a negative growth of 0.7 per cent during the month, as against a positive 9.4 per cent growth in the same period a year ago.

The petroleum refinery output was up by 6.9 per cent in September, about half the last year’s growth of 13.4 per cent.

Electricity generation was also down, registering a growth of 4.3 per cent against last year’s 11.5 per cent, while cement production was up five per cent during the month, compared to an impressive 16.5 per cent growth last year.

However, the coal sector bucked the downturn by registering a 6.2 per cent growth in output during the latest reported month, as against from a negative 0.8 per cent, while finished steel retained the double digit figure of 10.3 per cent.

The infrastructure growth numbers came in the wake of data released by the Government on Monday pointing to a slowdown in industrial output, which declined to 6.4 per cent in September from 12 per cent last year.

Cumulatively, for the April-September period this fiscal, crude petroleum production was up just 0.7 per cent in comparison to a 4.1 per cent registered a year ago.

Refinery products fared better to register a growth of 9.8 per cent in the first half of this year, against a 12.3 per cent last year.

Buoyed by a good showing during the pervious months of the current fiscal, electricity generation grew by 7.6 per cent for the six-month period, as against 6.7 per cent during the same period during the pervious fiscal, despite the lacklustre performance in September 2007.

The cement sector grew by 8.3 per cent during April-September this year against 10.6 per cent during the first six months of the pervious fiscal.

The performance of the finished steel sector was restricted to 6.6 per cent for the first half of the current fiscal as against 12.2 per cent in the same period last year.