Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Weighed down by declined in production of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum and steel, the growth in eight core sector industries slowed by 2.3 percent in May compared to 5.9 percent in the same month a year ago.
As per government data released on Monday, crude oil production declined by 0.3 percent, natural gas by 2.2 percent, petroleum declined by 2.3 percent and steel production declined by 2.0 percent.
On the other hand, coal production increased by 5.5 percent, fertilizer by 17.6 percent while production of cement and electricity grew by 8.7 percent and 6.3 percent respectively.
These core sectors account for 37.9 percent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
In April, the eight core industries had increased by 4.2 percent helped by a healthy growth in electricity, fertilisers, cement and coal.