Core sector Growth of India hit due to Lock Down

The core sectors of India include crude oil, steel, natural gas, refinery product, cement, fertilizer, electricity and coal. According to the figures released by the Ministry of Commerce recently, the production of core industries of India shrank in March, 2020 due to lock down.

Highlights

The output of the core industries has reduced by 6.5% in the month of March. This is the sharpest reduction since 2012.

• The petroleum sector slid by 0.5% as the transportation sector was completely halted
• The demand of electricity decreased by 7.2%. The production was relatively reduced.
• With the construction sector coming to a complete halt, cement industry saw 25% drop.
• The steel production demand reduced by 13%.
• The only sector that saw a positive figure was coal.

Significance

• The eight crore industries have a weight of 40.27% in the Index of Industrial Production. 
• With these industries contracting in their output, the country is to face very low economic output.

Index of Industrial Production

• The Index of Industrial Production is published by the Central Statistical Organization. 
• It shows the growth rate of different industrial groups. 
• The IIP is calculated with 2004-05 as the base year.
• The IIP indicator measures broad sectors namely mining, electricity and manufacturing. 
• It also measures use-based sectors namely capital goods and intermediate goods and basic goods.