The growth of eight core sectors slowed down to a five-month low of 3.4% in January mainly due to contraction in output of refinery products, fertiliser and cement.
The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity was 5.7 per cent in January 2016.
Infrastructure sectors’ expansion in January this year is the lowest since August 2016, when the segments had recorded a growth of 3.2 per cent. It is also lower than that of 5.6 per cent seen in December 2016. The core sectors, which contribute 38 per cent to the total industrial production, expanded 4.8 per cent in April - January this fiscal compared to 2.9 per cent growth in the same period previous financial year, according to Govt data .
