The eight core industries recorded 0.5% decline during August, mainly due to fall in the output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement and electricity, according to government data released on Monday.
The combined index of eight core industries stood at 128.2 last month. The eight core sector industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — had expanded by 4.7% in August last year.
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Coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity recorded a negative growth of 8.6%, 5.4%, 3.9%, 4.9% and 2.9% respectively in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
However, steel and fertiliser production grew by 5% and 2.9%.
During April to August, growth in the eight core industries grew by 2.4% from 5.7% in the year-ago period.
The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
(With ANI inputs)