Core sector industries showed an annual expansion of 5.1% in April hinting that India?s growth is well on track despite partial roll back in the fiscal and monetary stimulus measures. The six industries?crude production, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel?have a combined weight of 26.7% in the index of industrial production (IIP).The core sector had grown by 3.1% in April last year. Analysts pointed out that robust core sector data increased the chances of IIP figures staying in double digit territory in April. Industrial production figures come with a 15-day lag to core sector data.
Country?s chief statistician Pronab Sen told FE that there is no reason to read too much into the provisional core sector data as it do not give an accurate picture of growth in segment. ?This index was useful in another era under completely different circumstances,? said Sen. Policymakers are keenly awaiting the fourth quarter GDP data that will be released on Monday.
Amidst the robust performance by other core industries coal production remained a matter of concern with the production being almost halved from the previous month. Analysts were not able to pinpoint the reason for this fall and said that this could be an aberration in data. Any short fall in coal production will have an adverse impact on electricity generation with a time lag.