India’s key infrastructure sectors saw a growth of just 3.1 per cent in October 2024, a sharp decline from the 12.7 per cent recorded in the same month last year, according to official data. On a monthly basis, however, production growth in these sectors was higher than the 2.4 per cent recorded in September 2024.

In October, sectors such as crude oil, natural gas, coal, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity saw moderated growth compared to the previous year. Coal production grew by 7.8 per cent, while steel production expanded by just 4.2 per cent.

In contrast, output in refinery products grew by 5.2 per cent. The core sectors, including coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement, and electricity, contributed 40.27 per cent to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which tracks overall industrial growth.

Between April and October, the growth of core sectors slowed to 4.1 per cent from 8.8 per cent during the same period last year