Core sector growth sees sequential jump in February

India’s core eight sectors grew by 6.7% in February against 4.1% the previous month and 7.4% a year ago, ministry of commerce data showed.

Growth was primarily driven by production of coal, natural gas, cement, steel, crude oil, electricity and refinery products, the data showed

The Index of Eight Core Industries, or ICI, measures the combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries: cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilizers, natural gas, refinery products and steel.

The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The government revised the final growth of the core sectors for November at 7.9%, and pegged the cumulative year-on-year growth rate of ICI in the April-February period at 7.7%.

Among the sectors, coal production rose by 11.6% in February against 9% a year ago, while cement output increased by 10.2% in the same month against 7.4% a year ago.

Crude oil production increased by 7.9 % in February against a decline of 4.9 % last year, while natural gas output rose by 11.3% against a 3.1% growth a year ago

Steel and electricity production grew by 8.4% and 6.3%, respectively, against the higher growth of 12.4% and 8.2% seen in February last year.

Fertilizer production declined by 9.5% in February against a sizzling 22% growth last year, while refinery products grew at 2.6% against 3.3% a year ago.

In the kitty

In a separate development, the central government on Thursday, 28 March, said it received ₹22,45,922 crore, or 81.5% of revised budget estimates of total receipts for the current fiscal, up to February.

The receipts include ₹18,49,452 crore from tax revenue, ₹3,60,330 crore from non-tax revenue, and ₹36,140 crore from non-debt capital receipts, with the latter comprising ₹23,480 crore from loan recoveries and ₹12,660 crore from other capital receipts.

The government also said that it transferred ₹10,33,433 crore to states, or ₹2,25,345 crore more than last year.

The total government expenditure was reported at ₹37,47,287 crore, 83.4% of the revised estimate for 2023-24, with ₹29,41,674 crore for revenue and ₹8,05,613 crore for capital expenses.

Interest payments and major subsidies accounted for ₹8,80,788 crore and ₹3,60,997 crore, respectively.