Helped by robust performance of coal, natural gas and electricity, the eight core sectors recorded a five-month high growth rate of 4.9% in August, official data showed yesterday.
These eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- had witnessed 3.1% expansion in August last year.
The infrastructure growth was 2.6% in the previous month of July. The core sector growth in August is the highest since March, when it grew by 5.2%.
The production of coal, natural gas and electricity rose by 15.3%, 4.2% and 10.3%, according to the official data released yesterday.
However crude oil, fertiliser and cement recorded negative growth in the month under review. The production growth of refinery products and steel slowed down to 2.4% and 3% in August as against 2.5% and 16.7% respectively in the same month last year.
Cumulatively, the eight core sectors in April-August recorded a growth rate of 3% as against 5.4% in the same period a year ago. Healthy growth in key sectors would have positive implications on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41% to the total factory output.