Index of 8 core industries contracts by 4.6 pc in February

The output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped by 4.6 per cent in February largely due to decline in coal and crude oil production, government data released on Wednesday showed.

Its cumulative de-growth during April 2020 to February 2021 has been 8.3 per cent with combined index of eight core industries at 127.8 last month.

In February 2020, the production of eight core sectors had recorded a growth of 6.4 per cent, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed.

The coal production plunged by 4.4 per cent in February 2021 while crude oil production dipped by 3.2 per cent year-on-year.

Production of petroleum refinery products was down by 10.9 per cent, natural gas production by 1 per cent, fertilisers by 3.7 per cent and steel by 1.8 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )