Core sectors' growth quickens to 7.9% in September

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India's eight core sectors grew 7.9 percent in September, quickening from an upwardly revised 4.1 percent in August, the commerce ministry said on October 31.

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

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 this year, the recovery faces headwinds such as a looming global slowdown, quick monetary tightening across the world and the continued economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

India’s central bank has tightened monetary policy sharply since early May and is expected to continue with rate hikes going ahead. The central bank will meet on November 3 to deliberate on its report on the government after it failed to meet the inflation mandate.

For the financial year 2022-23, the central bank has cut its projection of gross domestic product growth to 7 percent from the 7.2 percent earlier estimated.

Meanwhile, production of coal rose 12 percent year-on-year in September, and electricity generation rose 11 percent, said the commerce ministry.

Refinery products output rose 6.6 percent while fertilisers grew 11.8 percent in September from a year earlier.

Cement production rose 12.1 percent while steel output gained 6.7 percent in September.

Crude oil output declined 2.3 percent from a year earlier. Natural gas output fell 1.7 percent in September.

Core industries growth was revised higher for August from 3.3 percent while that for June was revised to 13.1 percent from provisional level of 12.7 percent.

The growth rate of the eight sectors during April- September was 9.6 percent compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year.