Slowdown in India’s Core Infrastructure Growth

India's core infrastructure sectors marked a slower output growth of 3% in September compared to August's 6.5%, largely due to declines in coal and crude oil. However, steel and electricity saw noticeable gains. The overall performance impacts the country's Index of Industrial Production significantly.

The output from India's eight core infrastructure sectors witnessed a notable slowdown, registering a 3% growth in September, a significant drop from the robust 6.5% in August, as per the latest official data.

This slowdown marks the most sluggish expansion in the last three months, primarily due to reduced outputs in coal, crude oil, refinery products, and natural gas, with fertiliser and cement output growth also seeing a downturn.

Despite this, the production of steel and electricity showed resilience, recording 14.1% and 2.1% increases respectively. The overall growth trajectory of these sectors directly impacts the Index of Industrial Production, which considers a substantial 40.27% weight from these core industries.

(With inputs from agencies.)