Core sector clocks 4.7 percent growth rate

The growth of eight core sectors improved marginally to 4.7 percent in March 2019 as against 4.5 percent in the same period in the preceding year. For the full 2018-19 fiscal, the expansion rate of eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity -- remained flat at 4.3 percent, and coal generation was flat at 9.1 percent in March 2019. Natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel and cement sectors recorded positive growth. Crude oil production contracted by 6.2 percent in March, and electricity generation declined by 1.4 percent during the month under review. A fall in production of crude oil and refinery products dragged growth of the eight core sectors to 2.1 percent in February. The infrastructure sector growth will also have an impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output, the report said.