Core sector growth slows to 4.5% in July

Representative Image

India's eight core sectors grew 4.5 percent in July, slowing from an upwardly revised 13.2 percent in June, the commerce ministry said on August 31.

Output in six of the eight core sectors grew in July.

These sectors include coal, refinery products, electricity, fertilisers, cement and steel, said the ministry.

While India’s economy is expected to be the fastest growing major economy, the recovery faces headwinds such as a looming slowdown in the West and continued economic uncertainty due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

India’s central bank has tightened monetary policy sharply since early May and is expected to continue with rate hikes in the months ahead.

For the financial year 2022-23, the central bank has projected a growth rate of 7.2 percent, with gross domestic product growth seen at 6.2 percent, 4.1 percent, and 4.0 percent in the final three quarters of the current financial year. The GDP growth surged to 13.5 percent in April-June from 4.1 percent the previous quarter, data released on August 31 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed.

ALSO READ | April-July fiscal deficit at Rs 3.41 lakh crore; July sees first fiscal surplus since start of pandemic

Meanwhile, production of coal rose 11.4 percent year-on-year in July, and electricity generation rose 2.2 percent, said the commerce ministry.

Both refinery products and fertilisers output grew 6.2 percent in July from a year earlier.

Cement production rose 2.1 percent while steel output gained 5.7 percent in July.

Crude oil output declined 3.8 percent from a year earlier. Natural gas output fell 0.3 percent in July.

The core sector growth for June was revised upwards from 12.7 percent earlier.

The final growth rate of the index of eight core sectors for April was revised to 9.5 percent from its provisional level of 9.3 percent.

The growth rate of the eight sectors during April-July was 11.5 percent compared with the corresponding period of the last financial year.