July Core Sector Output Growth Slows to 2.1% from 7.3% Last Year

The eight core sector are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement & electricity.

The rate of GDP growth in the January-March quarter of 2018-19 slipped to 5.8 percent

(Photo: Rhythum Seth/ The Quint)

Growth of eight core industries dropped to 2.1 percent in July mainly due to a contraction in coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products, according to an official data.

The eight core sector industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity – had expanded by 7.3 percent in July 2018.

According to the data released by the government on Monday, output of coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products recorded negative growth in July.

The growth rate in steel, cement and electricity production also declined to 6.6 percent, 7.9 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, as against 6.9 percent, 11.2 percent and 6.7 percent in July 2018.

Fertilizers, however, grew by 1.5 percent in July this year, up from 1.3 percent in the same month the previous year.

During April-July, the eight sectors grew by 3 percent compared to 5.9 percent in the same period previous year.

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed deceleration with the growth rate dipping to 5 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which is the lowest it has been in six years. This is mainly attributable to the manufacturing sector which showed a growth of merely 0.6 percent.