India’s core sector output growth slows to 3.6% in January

Core sector industrial production in India expanded by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in January 2024, on the back of increased production of coal, steel, cement, natural gas, electricity and crude oil during the month.

The index of the eight core industries, with a combined weight of 40.27 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 4.9 per cent in December 2023 and 9.7 per cent in January 2023. 

The combined index of production of the eight industries, including cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilizer, natural gas, refinery products and steel increased by 7.7 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Production of cement, which has a weight of 5.37 per cent in IIP, increased by 5.6 per cent in January 2024 while cumulative cement production increased by 9.0 per cent year-on-year during April-January 2023-24.

Coal production (weight of 10.33 per cent) increased by 10.2 per cent in January 2024 while cumulative coal production increased by 12.2 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Production of crude oil (weight of 8.98 per cent) increased by 0.7 per cent in January 2024 while its  cumulative production declined by 0.2 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Electricity generation (weight of 19.85 per cent) increased by 5.2 per cent in January 2024 while cumulative generation of electricity increased by 6.8 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Fertilizer production (weight of 2.63 per cent) declined by 0.6 per cent in January 2024 while its cumulative production increased by 5.5 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Production of natural gas (weight of 6.88 per cent) increased by 5.5 per cent in January 2024 while its  cumulative production increased by 5.6 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Output of petroleum refinery products (weight of 28.04 per cent) declined by 4.3 per cent in January 2024 while cumulative refinery production increased by 3.9 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

Steel production (weight of 17.92 per cent) increased by 7.0 per cent in January 2024 while its cumulative production increased by 13.1 per cent during April-January 2023-24.

The final growth rate of core sector index for October 2023 stands revised to 12.7 per cent.