Infrastructure Sector Expands by 5.2% in March

India's key infrastructure sectors saw a 5.2% growth in March, slightly lower than February's 7.1% growth. Despite the decline, the cumulative growth rate for these sectors remains at 7.5% for the April-March period. The sectors included in this index account for over 40% of India's industrial production.

The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors rose to 5.2 per cent in March, according to official data released on Tuesday.

However, the growth rate is lower than in February this year. It was 7.1 per cent in the preceding month.

The growth of eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.2 per cent in March 2023.

Cumulatively also, the growth rate in the output of these sectors slowed to 7.5 per cent in April-March 2023-24 against 7.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

The eight core sectors contribute 40.27 per cent to the country's Index of Industrial Production (IIP).