India's key infra sector growth slows down to 4.3% in May

The core sector growth was 19.3 percent in May 2022 (Representative Image)

The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.3 percent in May 2023 due to a decline in the production of crude oil, natural gas and electricity, according to the data released by the government on Friday.

The core sector growth was 19.3 percent in May 2022, while in April 2023, the key infra sectors recorded a growth rate of 4.3 percent.

During April-May this fiscal, the output growth of these eight sectors slowed down to 4.3 percent against 14.3 percent in the year-ago period, the data showed.

Commenting on the numbers, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head - Research & Outreach, Icra Ltd, said the growth remained broadly stable in May.

"Icra expects the YoY (year-on-year) IIP (index of industrial production) growth to print at about 4-6 percent in May 2023," she said.

The eight core industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the IIP.

The output of crude oil contracted by 1.9 percent during the month under review. Similarly, the production of natural gas and electricity dipped by 0.3 percent each in May.

The growth rate of the coal output declined to 7.2 percent in May against 33.5 percent in the same month last year.

The growth rate in the output of refinery products too declined to 2.8 per cent in May against 28 percent a year ago.

The rate of growth in the production of fertiliser, steel and cement slowed down to 9.7 percent, 9.2 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively, in May this year compared to 22.9 percent, 15.1 percent and 26.2 percent in May 2022.