New Delhi: Output of eight core sectors rose by 3.1 per cent in December, the lowest growth rate since February this year, as against a contraction of 1.1 per cent in the same month last year, according to government data released on Friday.
Barring crude oil and cement, all other sectors recorded positive growth in November.
In October, these core sectors’ output had grown by 8.4 per cent. In February this year, the growth rate contracted to 3.3 per cent.
The growth rate of the eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — stood at 13.7 per cent during April-November this fiscal as against a negative growth of 11.1 per cent during the same period last fiscal.
According to the data, coal production rose by 8.2 per cent, natural gas by 23.7 per cent, refinery products 4.3 per cent, fertilisers by 2.5 per cent, steel by 0.8 per cent, and electricity by 1.5 per cent in November.
The eight core industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weightage of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).