Led by crude oil and finished steel, the output of the six core infrastructure industries grew by 7.4% in March, 2011, an improvement from the 6.8% expansion recorded a year ago.
For FY11, the key infrastructure sectors, with a weight of 26.7% in the overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded by 5.9%, as against 5.5% in the previous year.
According to provisional data released today, crude oil production topped the table with growth of 12.1% in March, compared to 3.5% expansion in the corresponding year-ago period.
Petroleum refinery products registered a growth of 8.5% in March, a complete turnaround in comparison to the same month last year, when output had contracted by 1.1%.
Growth in electricity and cement production slowed down marginally in the reporting period to 7.6% and 6.5%, respectively, from 7.9% and 7.8% in the previous year.
Finished steel production also showed an improvement from 7.7% to 9.9% in March.
However, in stark contrast, coal output contracted by 1.2% in March, 2011, compared to 8% expansion in the corresponding year-ago period.
