Core output up 7.5% in October: Natural gas, coal lead growth

The production in the eight key infrastructure sectors incceased 7.5 per cent in October, amid healthy performance by coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement segments, as per data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday.

In October 2020, the output of the core sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — had contracted 0.5 per cent, the data showed. In September this year, the core sector output had risen by 4.5 per cent.

Explained

Reflects larger recovery

The rise in output of the eight core industries bodes well for the recovering economy, especially the growth in natural gas and coal sectors, which reflects rising mobility and higher production in coal-based power plants.

The eight core industries account for 40.27 per cent of the total weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production. During April-October this fiscal, the core sector output grew 15.1 per cent as against a 12.6 per cent contraction in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, in a reply to Parliament, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said Tuesday the Centre’s debt is estimated at about 62 per cent of the GDP for this fiscal. —WITH PTI