Core sector growth turns negative, falls to -1.3% in November

Core sector industrial production in the country declined 1.3 per cent year-on-year in November 2015, reversing a 3.2 per cent expansion in October and September.

The eight core sector industries comprising coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity, which carry nearly 38 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 1.3 per cent in November this year.

Core sector industrial production in India had expanded at a faster pace of 6.7 per cent in November 2014.

Core sector output growth, which showed a volatile trend since April this year, recorded cumulative growth of 2.0 per cent in April-November this fiscal.

Coal production, which has a weight of 4.38 per cent in the index of industrial production (IIP) increased by 3.5 per cent in November 2015o while cumulative production of coal during April-November 2015-16 increased by 4.3 per cent year-on-year.

Crude oil production (weight of 5.22 per cent in IIP) decreased by 3.3 per cent in November 2015. Its cumulative production during April-November 2015-16 decreased by 0.4 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural gas production (weight of 1.71 per cent in IIP) declined by 3.9 per cent in November 2015 while cumulative production of natural gas during April-November 2015-16 declined by 2.3 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Petroleum refinery production (weight of 5.94 per cent in IIP) increased by 2.5 per cent in November 2015. Its cumulative production during April-November 2015-16 increased by 2.5 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Fertilizer production (weight of 1.25 per cent of IIP) increased by 13.5 per cent in November 2015 while cumulative production during April-November 2015-16 increased by 9.7 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel production (weight of 6.68 per cent in IIP) declined by 8.4 per cent in November 2015 while its cumulative index during April-November 2015-16 declined by 1.5 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Cement production (weight of 2.41 per cent in IIP) decreased by 1.8 per cent in November2015. Its cumulative production during April-November 2015-16 increased by 2.1 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year.

Electricity generation (weight of 10.32 per cent in IIP) recorded no change in November 2015 over November 2014. Its cumulative index during April-November 2015-16 increased by 4.2 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.