New Delhi, Dec 31 (KNN) The eight core industries including coal, fertilizers, steel, cement grew by a mere 1.7 per cent in November reflecting continuous slowdown in the economy.
 
“The Eight Core Industries have a combined weight of 37.90 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP),” Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
 
“The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 153.5 in November, 2013, which was 1.7 per cent higher compared to the index of November, 2012,” the statement added.
The output of the natural gas sector declined by 11.3 per cent in November, 2013 as compared to the corresponding period last year.
 
“The Natural Gas production (weight: 1.71 per cent) declined by 11.3 per cent in November, 2013 over November, 2012. Its cumulative index during April to November, 2013-14 declined by 15.6 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year,” the statement said.
 
Whereas, the output of the other core sector industries — coal, crude oil, fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity — showed slight improvement.
 
The cumulative index during April to November, 2013-14 of coal production increased by 1.5 per cent over corresponding period of previous year, while that of fertilizer production grew by 2.5 per cent.
 
However, the cumulative index of crude oil during April to November, 2013-14 moderated by 0.9 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year.
The Steel production recorded a growth rate of 3.9 per cent in November, 2013 over November, 2012.
“The cumulative growth during April to November, 2013-14 was 4.3 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year,” the statement said.
 
The cement production and electricity generation also increased by 4.2 per cent and 5.9 per cent in November, 2013 over November, 2012 and their cumulative growth during April to November, 2013-14 was 4.0 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively. (KNN Bureau)