India’s infrastructure output, as measured by the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), remained flat in October this year on an annual basis. The final growth rate for September was revised upward to 3.3 per cent. Four of India’s core sectors including production of Fertilizer, Steel, Cement and Petroleum Refinery products recorded positive growth during the last month, according to the provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry today.

Fertilizer production clocked robust growth of 7.4 per cent, Steel production grew 6.7 per cent, Cement production increased by 5.3 per cent, and Petroleum Refinery Products rose 4.6 per cent. Conversely, Coal production fell 8.5 per cent, Electricity generation was down by 7.6 per cent, Natural gas production dipped by 5 per cent, and Crude Oil production fell by 1.2 per cent. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to October period of current fiscal is provisionally reported at 2.5 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.