Signalling a revival in economic growth, output in the eight core industries grew 6.3 per cent in October 2014.

The picture is substantially better than the group’s performance last October, when the cumulative output shrank 0.1 per cent.

Higher coal production The eight core industries are coal, fertilisers, electricity, crude oil, refinery products, natural gas, steel and cement.

For the April-October 2014 period, the core sectors produced 4.3 per cent more, marginally higher than the 4.2 per cent growth recorded in same period last year.

The performance for October 2014 was bolstered by a 16 per cent increase in coal production and a 13.2 per cent rise in electricity generation.

While coal output had contracted 3.5 per cent in October 2013, electricity generation grew 1.3 per cent in same month last year. The eight core industries’ had a weightage of 38 per cent in the index of industrial production.

Cement, steel The performance was somewhat disappointing in both cement and steel.

While steel output growth came in lower at 2.3 per cent (5.8 per cent similar previous period), cement output had contracted 1 per cent in October (0.9 per cent) Natural gas output contracted 4.2 per cent in October 2014 (13.2 per cent).

Both crude oil and refinery products output in October rose 1 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively. The output in these two industries had contracted last October, at 0.6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

>srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in

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