Accounting for more than one-fourth of the total weight of Index for Industrial Production (IIP), these industries had recorded a 5.9 per cent growth in the five-month period from April to August.

September saw a significant growth of 10.3 per cent as against the period last year, according to an official release here on Monday.

While the power sector grew by 7.4 per cent during the six-month period, steel recorded a growth of 4.3 per cent and crude petroleum one per cent.

Petroleum refinery products sector registered a growth of 19.1 per cent with the cement sector growing by 18.8 per cent in the six months over the same period last year.

Only coal witnessed a negative growth rate of 2.7 per cent during April-September.

Steel sector, which witnessed negative growth last year has started showing recovery since May 1999 and grew at a rate of 2.4 per cent in the month of September 1999 as against 0.5 per cent recorded in September last year, it said. Cement industry had witnessed a distinct recovery every month since the presentation of the general budget this year but from June 1999 onwards the cement sector production started dipping.

The situation was the same during last year, the release said.

In coal, the negative trend that set in since September 1998 is continuing and during September 1999 it registered a negative growth rate of 2.8 per cent.

Petroleum refinery products are also showing improved performance during the current financial year. During September 1999, it grew by a whopping 25.8 per cent as against 10.5 per cent recorded during September 1998.