Core sector registers growth, up 4.9% in November

New Delhi: A healthy performance by sectors, including coal, steel and electricity, helped eight core industries register a growth of 4.9 percent in November 2016.[caption id="attachment_2737540" align="alignleft" width="380"] Reuters[/caption]The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- was 0.6 percent in November 2015. It stood at 6.6 percent in October 2016.The core sectors, which contribute 38 percent to the total industrial production, expanded 4.9 percent in April-November 2016 compared to 2.5 percent growth in the same period last financial year, according to data released by the commerce and industry ministry today.Coal, steel, electricity production jumped 6.4 percent, 5.6 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively.Refinery and cement output growth sat at 2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, in November 2016, against 1.7 percent and (-)1.7 percent in November 2015.However, crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 5.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.