September 1, 2023: The eight key infrastructure sectors grew by 8% in July 2023 as against 4.8% in July 2022 owing to an expansion in the production of crude oil, coal and natural gas, according to official data released on August 31, 2023. These key infrastructure sectors, which include coal, natural gas, crudeoil, refinery products, steel, cement, fertilisers and electricity, account for 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Production of cement, steel and electricity also grew in July 2023. However, the growth in the core sector was lower compared with June’s 8.3%. The output growth of the eight infra sectors was also lower in Q1 FY24 at 6.4% as against 11.5% in Q1 FY23. In July 2023, steel output increased by 13.5% as against 7.5% in July 2022.
Natural gas production jumped by 8.9% during July 2023 as compared to a decrease of 0.3% in July 2022. Coal output rose by 14.9% in July 2023 as against 11.4% in July 2022. The growth rate in the production of fertiliser and refinery products in July 2023 slowed down to 3.3% and 3.6% respectively, as against 6.2% each in July 2022. Crude oil production rose to 2.1% in July 2023.
