Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry Wednesday now shows that eight key industries—coal, cement, steel, and electricity—have grown by 4 per cent in June compared with the same month a year ago. At 14.8%, coal production surged in June compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, driven by enhanced production from mines that met growing demand from thermal power plants during the intense heat wave.
Electricity generation also rose by 7.7 percent in the same period.
Natural gas output advanced by 3.3 percent in June and boosted consumption of this cleaner fuel in transportation and household cooking.
Fertilizer output rose by 2.4 percent, while that of steel jumped by 2.7 percent. Crude oil output was down by 2.6 percent in June.
These eight core industries account for 40.27% of the items in the IIP index and are a proxy to gauge general industrial growth.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has further revised the final growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for March 2024 at 6.3%.
The cumulative growth rate of the ICI during April to June 2024-25 was 5.7 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
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