Core growth up at 9.5%

The Economic Times, New Delhi
THE robust growth in the refining sector has led to infrastructure sector growth hitting 9.5% in November 2006, compared to 5.7% in the same period last year. Refinery products recorded 16.4% growth in November 2006, compared to 1.5% in November 2005. The six core infrastructure industries � crude petroleum, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and steel � registered a growth rate of 7.8% in the first seven months of 2006-07, compared to 5.2% in the same period previous fiscal. The core sector has a weightage of 26.7% in the index of industrial production. According to government data, refinery sector recorded bullish growth even in April-November 2006 at 13.5%. It had recorded a negative growth rate of 0.6% in the same period last year. While the cement sector grew by 10.2% in the same period (10.6% same period last year), finished steel grew by 7.6%(10% last year). According to the report, electricity production has grown by 7.3% in April-November 2006-07 in contrast to 4.9% in the same period of 2005-06. Coal has recorded a growth of 4.8% in April-November 2006-07 (6.1% last year). In November 2006, refinery products are followed by Cement at 11.5% and crude at 10.1%.