Eight core industries output contracts 8.5% in Aug

Contracting for the sixth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped by 8.5 per cent in August, mainly due to decline in production of steel, refinery products and cement.

Contracting for the sixth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped by 8.5 percent in August, mainly due to a decline in the production of steel, refinery products, and cement. The production of eight core sectors had contracted 0.2 percent in August 2019, showed data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday.

Barring coal and fertilizer, all sectors -- crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity -- recorded negative growth in August. During April-August 2020-21, the sectors' output dipped by 17.8 percent as compared to a growth of 2.5 percent in the same period the previous year.