Growth of Key infrastructure sectors slows to 6.7% in Feb

New Delhi: The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.7 per cent in February due to poor performance of some sectors like fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday.

The growth of eight core sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement & electricity — was 4.1 per cent in Jan. It was 7.4 per cent in Feb 2023. Cumulatively also, the growth rate in the output of these sectors slowed to 7.7 per cent in April-Jan FY24 against 8.2 per cent in April-Feb FY23. The output growth of fertiliser was in the negative zone.

The eight core sectors contribute 40.27 per cent to the country’s Index of Industrial Production. According to the data, the growth rate in the output of refinery products, steel, and electricity declined in February.

However, coal (11.6 per cent), crude oil (7.9 per cent), natural gas (11.3 per cent), and cement (10.2 per cent) production registered healthy growth during the month under review.