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New Delhi , Oct. 22

THE official index of six infrastructural industries has registered a 5.9 per cent increase during September, powered by the buoyancy in the petroleum, cement and steel sectors.

The overall infrastructure index recorded a year-on-year rise of 5.9 per cent in September 2003, compared to 2.2 per cent in September 2002, even as the cumulative growth for April-September 2003 worked out to be lower at 4.2 per cent, against 6.5 per cent for April-September 2002.

While production of refined petro-products in September 2003, at 93.36 lakh tonnes (l.t), stood 11 per cent higher than the 84.12 l.t level for September 2002, the corresponding volumes for crude petroleum amounted to 27.17 l.t and 27.10 l.t, respectively (0.3 per cent growth). Cumulative output of refined petro-products during the first half of the current fiscal was estimated to be 6.1 per cent higher (547.92 l.t versus 516.49 l.t), while being 1.4 per cent lower in the case of crude petroleum (163.03 l.t versus 165.38 l.t).

But it is in steel and cement, where the picture continues to be good. Finished steel production rose by 7.8 per cent in September 2003 (from 27.652 l.t to 29.803 l.t) as well as April-September 2003 (from 165.519 l.t to 178.458 l.t), even as cement output correspondingly went up by 7.2 per cent (from 87.18 l.t to 93.47 l.t) and 5.1 per cent (568.07 l.t to 597.02 l.t). The 5.1 per cent growth in cement production during April-September 2003 was over and above the 9.8 per cent year-on-year increase recorded during the same period of the previous year.

The energy sector, however, continues to be plagued by lower growth. During April-September 2003, the country's total electricity production amounted to 269.457 billion units (kW hours), which was only 2.8 per cent higher than the 262.029 billion units generated during the first half of the previous fiscal. Similarly, output of coal rose only 3.7 per cent, from 1,512 l.t to 1,568 l.t.

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