Core sector industrial production grows faster at 3.2% in September

India's core sector industrial production expanded at a faster pace of 3.2 per cent in September 2015, up from the 2.6 per cent growth recorded in the previous month. The September 2015 expansion was also higher than the 1.9 per cent growth recorded in September 2014.

Core sector output growth, which started showing signs of weakness since May this year, has started showing positive growth since August.

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), had expanded at a rate of 2.3 per cent in April-September this year.

Coal production, which has a weight of 4.38 per cent in the IIP, increased by 1.9 per cent in September 2015. Cumulative production of coal during April-September 2015-16 increased by 4.2 per cent.

Production of crude oil (weight of 5.22 per cent in IIP) decreased by 0.1 per cent in September while cumulative production of crude oil during April-September 2015-16 increased by 0.4 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural gas production (weight of 1.71 per cent in IIP) increased by 0.9 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative production during April-September 2015-16 declined by 2.1 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Petroleum refinery production (weight of 5.94 per cent in IIP) increased by 0.5 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative production during April-September 2015-16 increased by 3.6 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Fertilizer production (weight of 1.25 per cent in IIP) increased by 18.1 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative production of fertilisers during April-September 2015-16 increased by 8.0 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel production (weight of 6.68 per cent in IIP) declined by 2.5 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative production during April-September 2015-16 declined by 0.4 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Cement production (weight of 2.41 per cent in IIP) decreased by 1.5 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative cement production during April-September 2015-16 increased by 1.3 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Electricity generation (weight of 10.32 per cent in IIP) increased by 10.8 per cent in September 2015 while cumulative production during April-September 2015-16 increased by 4.1 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.