Core sector growth hits 6-month high of 5.2% in September 2017

According to index of eight core industries released by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Core sector growth has hit six-month high in September 2017.
The core industries comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity was up 5.2% in September 2017 compared with 4.4% in August 2017 and 5.3% in September 2016. Besides, August 2017 core sector growth was revised downwards from 4.9%.

Sector wise growth

Production of coal, natural gas and refinery products rose 10.6%, 6.3% and 8.1%, respectively in September 2017. Electricity generation rose by 5.2%, and steel production by 3.7%. Crude output and cement production was stagnant at 0.1% each, while fertilisers output contracted 7.7%. Strong core sector growth suggests higher industrial output in September 2017. It shows that the country’s economy has picked up pace after disappointing first quarter.

Core Industry sector

Core industry can be defined as the main industry. In most countries, there is a particular industry that seems to be the backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry. In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity.
The electricity has the maximum weight of 10.32% followed by Steel (6.68%), Petroleum Refinery (5.94%), Crude Oil production (5.22 %), Coal production (4.38 %), Cement (2.41%), Natural Gas production (1.71 %) and Fertilizer production (1.25%). These eight Core Industries comprise nearly 38% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures factory output.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2017