Six core sectors grow by 7.4% in March; IIP to be steady

Key infrastructure industries showed an improved growth of 7.4% in March over 6.8% a year ago, raising prospects of a steady overall industrial growth during the month.
    
The six core sectors - crude oil, petroleum refinery, cement, electricity, finished steel and coal - have a weight of 26.7% in the overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
   
The infrastructure growth was led by crude oil and finished steel which expanded by 12.1% and 9.9% respectively in March, against 3.5% and 7.7% a year ago.
    
However, the overall performance in fiscal 2010-11, improved by a narrow margin to 5.9% from 5.5% in the previous year.
    
"The numbers are good but it will not have a major impact on IIP. It will help to stabilise IIP but not pull it up," Ficci director General Rajiv Kumar said.
    
Kumar said the same trend is expected to continue in the coming months.
    
Industrial growth slowed to 3.6% in February, 2011, compared to 15.1% expansion in the year-ago period.
    
According to provisional data released today, petroleum refinery products registered a growth of 8.5% in March, a complete turnaround in comparison to the same month last year, when output had contracted by 1.1%.
    
Growth in electricity and cement production slowed down marginally in the reporting period to 7.6% and 6.5%, respectively, from 7.9% and 7.8% in the previous year.
    
However, in stark contrast, coal output contracted by 1.2% in the month under review compared to 8% expansion in the corresponding year-ago period.
   
During the fiscal 2010-11, the crude oil output grew by 11.9%, as against a 0.5% in 2009-10.
    
Coal output remained constant during April-March 2010-11. The sector grew by 7.9% in 2009-10, the data said.
    
Electricity and cement production also slowed down to 5.6% and 4.5%, respectively from 6.2% and 10.5% in the same period last year.
    
The data further showed that petroleum refinery output expanded by 3% during the period -- as against 0.5% contraction in April-March 2010-11, while finished steel production rose by 8.2%, compared to 5.4% growth in the corresponding period of 2009-10.