Core infra sector growth slows to 3% in September

India’s eight key infrastructure sectors’ output stood at 3 per cent in September, slower than the 6.5 per cent expansion recorded in August, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The core sectors’ output growth was 2.4 per cent in September last year. In September this year, these eight sectors recorded the lowest growth in the last three months due to a fall in the output of coal, crude oil, refinery products and natural gas. The growth rate in the production of fertiliser and cement slowed to 1.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent during the month under review against 1.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in September 2024. However, steel and electricity output increased 14.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, on a year-on-year basis in September.

During April-September of this fiscal year, the eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 2.9 per cent compared to a rise of 4.3 per cent in the same period of the last year. The growth rate has implications for the country’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as these core industries account for 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the index.