New Delhi: Eight core industries registered a negative growth of 0.1 percent in March, the lowest performance in 17 months, due to a steep decline in production of steel, cement and refinery products.
The output had expanded by 4 percent in March 2014. The previous low logged by the core industries was in October 2013 at (-) 0.6 percent.
The growth of eight core industries -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, electricity, steel and cement -- was 1.4 percent in February 2015.
For the full 2014-15 fiscal, the production growth of eight sectors also slowed down to 3.5 percent, from 4.2 percent in previous financial year ended in March, 2014.
"The stagnation in core sector output and contraction in merchandise trade ... Leading us to expect a moderation in industrial growth," rating agency ICRA said.
The growth rate of core sector industries has been declining since November last year. It was 6.7 percent in November 2014, which fell to 2.4 percent in December 2014 and then to 1.8 percent in January.
The eight sectors contribute 38 percent to the overall industrial production, a parameter that the Reserve Bank takes into account while framing its monetary policy.
In March 2015, steel production declined by 4.4 percent, cement output by 4.2 percent, refinery products' by 1.3 percent and of natural gas by 1.5 percent, according to the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
However, coal production rose by 6 percent, crude oil by 1.7 percent and fertiliser output by 5.2 percent in the last month of 2014-15 fiscal.
Electricity generation grew by 1.7 percent in March 2015 compared to 5.4 percent in the same month last year.
