Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Electricity, Cement and Coal Sectors Register High Growth As The Combined Index Grows By 18.1%

The growth rate of ICI during April-May 2022-23 was 13.6% as compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year.
July 1, 2022
High Growth

Post-Covid-19 economic recovery continued to gather momentum as the Combined Index of eight core industries grew at 18.1 percent (provisional) in May 2022 compared to May 2021. The Index stood at 148.1 in May 2022. The production of cement, coal, fertilizers and electricity industries recorded high growth in May 2022 in comparison to the corresponding period last year. The coal industry grew by 25.1%, while the fertiliser sector witnessed a growth of 22.8%. The cement industry zoomed by 26.3% and the electricity sector increased by 22%.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for the Month of May, 2022 on June 30. ICI measures combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core sector which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. The these eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The final growth rate of Index of eight core industries for February 2022 has been revised to 5.9% from its provisional level 5.8%. The growth rate of ICI during April-May 2022-23 was 13.6% as compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year.

Coal production increased by 25.1% in May, 2022 over the previous year. Its cumulative index increased by 26.9% during April to May, 2022-23 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production increased by 4.6%. Its cumulative index increased by 1.8% per cent during April to May over the corresponding period last year.

Natural Gas production increased by seven percent in May, 2022 with its cumulative index increasing by 6.7% during April to May this year over the corresponding period in the last financial year. Similarly, production in petroleum refineries in India increased by 16.7% in May, 2022. Its cumulative index increased by 12.8 per cent between April to May.

The fertilizers sector too showed positive growth of 22.8% with the cumulative index improving by 16.3%. The growth of the construction sector was reflected in the increased production of both cement and steel. The cement industry increased production by 26.3% in May, with its cumulative index growing by 15.9%. Steel production, which has a weight of 17.92% in the Index, increased by 15% with the cumulative index growing 8.4%.

Finally, electricity generation, another heavyweight of the Index with a weightage of 19.85% showed a significant growth of 22.0 per cent in May and the sector’s cumulative index increased by 16.7% per cent during April to May compared to the period of previous year.

The forecast of a normal monsoon should also bring some more cheers to the Indian economy which is still recovering after the severe slowdown due to the successive lockdowns over a two-year period.