Infrastructure Sector Growth Hits Five-Month Low

In February, growth in key infrastructure sectors fell to a five-month low of 2.9%, down from 7.1% a year ago. Sectors such as crude oil and natural gas witnessed negative growth, while coal, refinery products, steel, and electricity saw moderated growth. Fertiliser and cement output increased significantly.

The growth rate of key infrastructure sectors dropped to a five-month low of 2.9% in February, a sharp decline from the 7.1% growth recorded a year earlier, according to the latest official data.

Compared to a 5.1% growth recorded in January, February's output reflects a significant slowdown. The previous low was 2.4% in September. Notably, crude oil and natural gas production suffered negative growth, indicating challenges in these areas.

Conversely, while sectors like coal, refinery products, steel, and electricity reported slower growths of 1.7%, 0.8%, 5.6%, and 2.8% respectively, fertilizer and cement output surged to 10.2% and 10.5%. Collectively, these sectors form 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and experienced a reduced 4.4% growth from April-February as compared to 7.8% in the previous fiscal year.

(With inputs from agencies.)