Core sector growth slips to 4.1% in Q1

Led by poor performance in the crude oil production, key infrastructure sector continued to present a grim picture with its June growth plummeting to 4.7 per cent, thus translating into a lower growth of 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

The growth in six key infrastructure industries -- crude petroleum, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement, finished steel -- during June 2002 stood as high as seven per cent and the overall growth rate stood at over six per cent in April-June last fiscal.

Due to a whopping fall in crude petroleum to a mere (-) 2.1 per cent in April-June 2003 as compared to 7.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2002-03, the overall growth in key infrastructure industries was a mere 4.1 per cent against 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2002-03.

Except electricity, all the other five infrastructure industries put up a poor show during the first quarter of this fiscal.

The petroleum refinery products registered a mere 3.5 per cent growth in April-June 2003 as compared to 6.3 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago.

In June, the petroleum refinery products, however, registered an impressive 4.6 per cent growth as against 2.6 per cent in June 2002.

Coal production growth dropped to 3.7 per cent in the quarterly review period from 6.5 per cent in April-June 2002, in June alone, the sector recorded a massive fall to 4.5 per cent from as high as 10.3 per cent in June 2002.

Cement production registered 4.9 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year as compared to 8.1 per cent in the same period of previous year.

However in June, the cement production witnessed a robust 9.5 per cent growth as against 4.2 per cent in the same month of previous year.

Growth in finished steel production fell to 7.5 per cent in April-June 2003 as compared to 9.2 per cent in the same period in 2002-03.

In June this year, the sector recorded a mere 4.6 per cent growth as against 12 per cent in the same month in the previous year.

The electricity sector, however, witnessed a four per cent growth in the first quarter of this year, as against 3.6 per cent in the corresponding period of 2002-03.