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New Delhi, October 31
Production in India’s eight core infrastructure industries fell sharply by 5.2 per cent in September 2019 (year-on-year) as all sectors, with the exception of fertilisers, posted a decline in output during the month.
The eight infrastructure industries, which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity, account for 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
“Cumulative growth of the eight core sectors during April-September 2019-20 was 1.3 per cent compared to the same period last fiscal”, according to an official release of the Commerce & Industry Ministry circulated on Thursday.
Core sector performance in September 2019 has been the lowest in the last 12 months and negative for the first time, pointed out Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE Ratings. “IIP growth this month will be in the negative zone as the infra industries with a weight of around 40 per cent in IIP has declined, and the auto and consumer durable segments are also in the negative territory,” he said.
Coal production (weight of 10.33 per cent) declined by 20.5 per cent in September 2019 compared to the same month last year. Its cumulative index fell by 3.5 per cent during April-September 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.
Crude Oil production (weight of 8.98 per cent) declined by 5.4 per cent in September 2019 over September 2018. Its cumulative index declined by 6 per cent during April-September 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.
Natural gas production (weight of 6.88 per cent) declined by 4.9 per cent in September 2019 over the same month last year. Its cumulative index fell by 2 per cent during April-September 2019-20 over the corresponding period last year.
Petroleum refinery production (weight of 28.04 per cent) declined by 6.7 per cent during the month under consideration while in the April-September 2019-20 period, total production declined by 2 per cent.
Steel production (weight of 17.92 per cent) declined by 0.3 per cent in September although total output in the April-September 2019-20 period increased by 8.5 per cent.
Cement production (weight of 5.37 per cent), too, declined by 2.1 per cent in September 2019 while its cumulative index increased by 0.7 per cent during April-September 2019-20.
Electricity generation (weight of 19.85 per cent) declined by 3.7 per cent in September 2019. In the April-September 2019-20 period, the cumulative index increased by 3.6 per cent during April to September 2019-20.
Fertilisers (weight of 2.63 per cent) was the only sector where production increased, posting a 5.4 per cent growth in September 2019. Its cumulative index increased by 1.1 per cent during April-September, 2019-20 period.
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