Facilities Output Of Core Sectors Increases 7.5% In October 2021

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
October Infrastructure Output: The output of core sectors grew by 7.5 per centInfrastructure Output in October 2021: The output of the eight
core infrastructure sectors rose 7.5 per cent in October 2021, compared to the corresponding month last year, government data showed on
Tuesday, November 30
The infrastructure output witnessed a de-growth of 0.5 per cent in October 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit industrial activity across the
country.The growth of core sectors stood at 4.4 per cent in September and 11.5 per cent in August 2021
The eight core industries consists of 40.27 per cent of the total weight of the items included in the industrial output or the Index of
Industrial Production (IIP).The growth in the infrastructure output last month was mostly driven by natural gas, coal, cement, and petroleum
refinery products
The production of natural gas, coal, and cement sectors increased by 25.8 per cent, 14.6 per cent, and 14.5 per cent, respectively.The
combined index of the eight core industries stood at 136.2 in October 2021, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry today
In the year-ago period, the combined index was 126.7The production of petroleum refinery products, fertilizers, steel, and electricity
sectors also registered growth in October, increasing by 14.4 per cent, 0.04 per cent, 0.9 per cent, and 2.8 per cent, respectively,
compared to the corresponding period last year.The infrastructure output - which comprises the eight core sectors such as electricity, coal,
crude oil, among others, recorded a growth of 15.1 per cent in April-October period of the current fiscal, compared to a de-growth of 12.6
per cent in the corresponding period last year.Crude oil is the only sector that registered a de-growth in production last month at 2.2
cent, according to Commerce Ministry data
The sector has recorded a de-growth for the past three-four months.Separate government data showed that the country's gross domestic
product (GDP) grew by 8.4 per cent in the July-September quarter, compared to 20.1 per cent in the preceding April-June quarter.