Key infra sectors' growth slows to a 15-month low at 3.6% in Jan
Official data reveals a slowdown as eight key infrastructure sectors report 3.6% growth in January, with poor performance in refinery products, fertilizer, steel, and electricity
Photo Source: YaleE 360
Hyderabad: The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 15-month low of 3.6 per cent in January, according to official data released on Thursday. Sectors such as refinery products, fertiliser, steel, and electricity showed poor performance, contributing to this decline.
In December, the growth of these eight core sectors, which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement, and electricity, was at 4.9 per cent. This marks a significant drop from the 9.7 per cent growth observed in January 2023. The lowest growth rate before this was 0.9 per cent in October 2022. Cumulatively, the growth rate in the output of these sectors slowed down to 7.7 per cent compared to 8.3 per cent in April-January 2022-23.
The output growth of refinery products and fertiliser was negative, while the pace of increase in coal, steel, and electricity production decelerated in January. However, positive growth was seen in crude oil, natural gas, and cement production for the same period.
These eight core sectors collectively contribute 40.27 per cent to the country's Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
