NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s infrastructure output grew 4.6% year-on-year in January, backed by a pick up in cement and refined petroleum product output, government data showed on Friday.
Infrastructure output, which tracks activity across eight sectors and makes up 40% of the country’s industrial production, grew at a revised 4.8% in December, compared to the initial estimate of 4%.
Infrastructure output rose 4.4% in April-January, compared to a 7.8% increase in the year-ago period.
Cement output rose 14.5% year-on-year in January, compared to a revised 4.6% increase in December, while steel production climbed 3.7% against a revised 7.3% climb a month earlier.
Coal production increased 4.6% year-on-year compared to a 5.3% gain in December, while refinery products output advanced 8.3% compared with 2.8% growth in December.
Electricity generation was up 1.3% against a revised 6.2% increase in the prior month, while fertilizer production grew 3% compared with 1.7% in the prior month.
Crude oil output dropped 1.1% year-on-year compared to a 0.6% increase in December, while natural gas production declined 1.5% compared with a 1.8% drop in December.
Separately, India also raised its growth forecast slightly to 6.5% for the year ending March 31, from its previous projection of 6.4%.
(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Savio D’Souza)
