Why in News ?

The output of India’s eight core sectors of infrastructure, which is calculated by the Index of Eight Core Industries declined 8.5 per cent on-year to 117.6 in August.

Which are the core Industries ?

• Core industries are the main or the key industries of any country and acts as a backbone for all other industries.
• The eight core industries : Coal, Crude oil, Natural gas, Refinery products, Fertilisers, Steel, Cement and Electricity.
  • The Eight Core Industries comprise of 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• Weight of Core Industries in IIP

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• Growth rates in different industry groups (Including Core Industries) of the economy in a particular period of time.
• The IIP index compiled and published on a monthly basis. by
  • Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)
  • Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
• IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period.
• Index of eight core sector industries, which form 40% of the weight of items included in the broader Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI)

• ICI measures collective and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries
• The ICI is a production volume index prepared and released by
  • Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA)
  • Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
  • Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI\
• To provide an advance indication on the production performance of the industries which are of core nature before the release of the IIP and released 12 days before the IIP.

About recent Index of Eight Core Industries

• The output of India’s eight core sectors of infrastructure, which is calculated by the Index of Eight Core Industries declined 8.5 per cent on-year to 117.6 in August.
  • Worst hit include refinery products where petroleum refinery production declined by 19.1 percent.
  • Next affected sector is cement whose production fell by 14.6 percent.
  • Natural gas production declined by 9.5 percent and steel production decreased by 6.3 percent.
  • Coal production increased by 3.6 percent
• Except for coal and fertilizers, the remaining sectors recorded negative growth in the month.
• During the April-August period, the eight core sectors contracted 17.8 per cent from the year-ago period.

Source : PIB

Topic

GS III : Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth

Current Affairs Compilation : 1 October 2020