According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday, the eight key sectors that include industries such as coal, cement, steel, and electricity grew 6.3 percent in May this year compared to the same period over the previous year. In May, electricity generation surged by as much as 12.8 per cent compared to the same month of the previous year.
Coal production surged noticeably by about 10.2 percent in May, while that of steel increased by 7.6 percent during the same period.
Production of natural gas was also significantly larger by 7.5 percent in May 2024 compared to the same month last year, as consumption of eco-friendly fuel went up in transportation and households' kitchen kitchens.
Petroleum refinery production posted a marginal gain of 0.5 per cent in May 2024 over the corresponding month of last year. The fertiliser segment was down 1.7 per cent in May.
The cumulative growth rate of the index of these eight core industries increased by 6.5 per cent in April-May 2024-25 over the corresponding period of the previous year, indicating quite a substantial contribution towards the overall industrial growth rate.
These key industries together have a weight of 40.27 percent in the overall Index of Industrial Production and this makes ECI an important lead indicator of industrial performance.
The commerce and industry ministry has also revised the final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for the month of February 2024 to 7.1 percent against the provisional growth rate released earlier, a statement issued by the ministry said.
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