Output from India’s eight core sectors grew by 4.3% in March, moderately lower than the 6% growth recorded in February, but still reflecting the second highest growth rate over five months.
Fertilizers’ production recovered sharply to grow 15.3% year-on-year after two months of contraction, though this was on a low base as output had declined 5% in March 2021. Cement production grew 8.8%, natural gas 7.6% and refinery products 6.2%, while Steel output increased 3.7%. Overall core sectors’ output had grown by a sharp 12.6% a year ago.
Coal output contracted by a marginal 0.1% in March, while crude oil production shrank by 3.4%, the sharpest fall in ten months. Electricity generation expanded at the fastest pace in seven months at 4.9%. The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
