Key infra growth slows down to 6.1% in July

New Delhi: India’s core sector, comprising industries such as coal, electricity, steel, and cement, posted a 6.1 per cent growth in July after having slowed to 4 per cent in June, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Friday. The growth rate of the 8 core sector industries, for the first four months of the current financial year (2024-25), now works out to 6.1 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent during the same of the previous year.

The combined Index of Eight Core Sector Industries measures the output of key sectors that include cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilisers, natural gas, refinery products and steel which together have a 40 per cent weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The growth in steel production rose to a three-month high of 7.2 per cent in July, compared with 6.7 per cent in the previous month.

Cement output rose to a four-month high of 5.5 per cent from 1.9 per cent in the previous month, reflecting a pick-up in construction activity. Petroleum production rose to an eight-month high of 6.6 per cent, while fertiliser output was at a seven-month high of 5.3 per cent as kharif sowing gathered momentum due to a better monsoon this year.