India's core sector output grows 5.2% in June

The Indian infrastructure sector output in eight "core" industries (ECI) grew by 5.2 % in June compared with the same month last year and 2.8 % growth in May 2016, on the back of overall increase in production except in hydrocarbons, official data showed on Thursday.

The cumulative ECI growth during April-June was 5.4 % over the same quarter last year, according to the data furnished here by the Commerce Ministry.

The index comprises 38 % of the total weightage of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Under the ECI, fertilisers, coal refinery products, cement, steel and electricity industries reported healthy output, whereas production of natural gas and crude oil declined.

Electricity generation, which has the highest weightage of 10.32 % in the IIP, augmented by 8.1 % in June, compared with the corresponding month of 2015.

Steel production, the second most important component as per weightage of 6.68 %, increased by only 2.4 % in the month under review.

Distilling of refinery products, the third most important component as per weightage, inched up by 3.5 % in June, compared with the corresponding month of last year.

However, extraction of crude oil, which has a 5.22 % weightage in IIP, decreased by 4.3 % during June.

In contrast, coal mining, with a 4.38 % weightage, increased during the month under consideration by an impressive 12 %.

Cement production, which has the weightage of 2.41 %, increased by 10.3 % in June 2016, over the same month last year.

On the other hand, the sub-index for natural gas output, with a weightage of 1.71 %, declined by 4.5 % during the month under consideration.

But the fertiliser manufacturing, which has the least weightage of only 1.25 %, surged 9.8 % in June.