Core sector output rises 5.4% in uneven recovery

The output growth of India’s eight core sectors rebounded to 5.4% in November against a 3.2 percent growth in the same month last year.

More about the news:

• Sectors having Positive Growth: Coal, fertilizer, steel, cement, and electricity segment

• Sectors having Negative Growth: Crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products

What are Core Sectors?

• Eight Core Sectors: Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizer, Steel, Cement, and Electricity.
• These comprise 27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• The eight core sector industries in decreasing order of their weightage:
• Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.

Index of Industrial Production:

• IIP is an indicator that measures the changes in the volume of production of industrial products during a given period.
• It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Ministry of Statistics, and Programme Implementation.
• The base year for IIP is 2011-2012.
• It is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under:
  • Broad sectors: Mining, Manufacturing, and Electricity.
  • Use-based sectors: Basic Goods, Capital Goods, and Intermediate Goods.

Significance of IIP:

• It is used by government agencies including the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, etc, for policy-making purposes.
• IIP remains extremely relevant for the calculation of the quarterly and advanced GDP (Gross Domestic Product) estimates.

Government Initiatives for Growth of the Industrial Sector in India

• Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) - To scale up domestic manufacturing capability.
• PM Gati Shakti- National Master Plan - Multimodal connectivity infrastructure project.
• Bharatmala Project - To Improve connectivity in North East India
• Start-up India - To catalyze Startup culture in India
• Make in India 2.0 - To transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Campaign - To cut down import dependence
• Disinvestment Plans - To support India’s economic recovery
• Special Economic Zones- To create additional economic activity and boost the export of goods and services.
• MSME Innovative Scheme- To promote the complete value chain from developing ideas into innovation through incubation and design interventions