Indian Economy
Core Sector Growth at 5.5%
- 01 Apr 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
- According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the eight core sector industries recorded a growth of 5.5% in February, 2020 which is highest in 11-months.
Key Points
- This spike is because of growth in refinery products, electricity, fertiliser, cement and coal production.
- However, crude oil, natural gas, and steel recorded negative growth rate in February.
- This was the fourth consecutive month when the index of eight core industries reported growth.
- The outlook may not be very bright for March 2020, as the lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19 has disrupted the production process in the country and globally.
Core Sector Industries
- The eight core sector industries include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity
- The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
- The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
| Industry | Weight (In percentage) |
| Petroleum & Refinery production | 28.04 |
| Electricity generation | 19.85 |
| Steel production | 17.92 |
| Coal production | 10.33 |
| Crude Oil production | 8.98 |
| Natural Gas production | 6.88 |
| Cement production | 5.37 |
| Fertilizers production | 2.63 |
Index of Industrial Production
- The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mineral mining, electricity,manufacturing, etc.
- It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation six weeks after the reference month ends, i.e a lag of six weeks.
- The Base Year of the Index of Eight Core Industries has been revised from the year 2004-05 to 2011-12 from April, 2017.
