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India annual infrastructure output slows
September 1, 2014, 12:38 pm

A portrait of India's prime minister Narendra Modi is displayed on a screen on the façade of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, Friday, May 16, 2014 [AP]

A portrait of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi is displayed on a screen on the façade of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, Friday, May 16, 2014 [AP]

Growth of the eight core industries in India has fallen to 2.7 per cent in July, pulled down by negative growth in crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers and steel, new data shows.

Growth in the infrastructure sector, which has a combined weight of about 38 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), stood at 5.3 per cent in July 2013.

Crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers and steel recorded a negative growth of 1 per cent, 9 per cent, 5.5 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively in July, says India’s Commerce and Industry Ministry data.

However, coal, cement and electricity production grew by 6.2 per cent, 16.5 per cent and 11.2 per cent, respectively during the same period. A sharp fall in output at a large power plant due to a coal shortage may lead to blackouts in India, warns a new Reuters report.

Meanwhile a private business survey showed India’s factory growth eased in August.

The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 52.4 in August from 53.0 in July.

India has set a $1 trillion infrastructure investment target over five years to 2017.

Source: Agencies