Tracking slower expansion in industrial production, growth of six key infrastructure sectors in December 2007 nosedived to four per cent, less than half of nine per cent achieved a year ago.

The April-December performance of infrastructure industries — crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and steel — was equally dismal at 5.7 per cent as against 8.9 per cent.

Dismal show

For December 2007, crude oil was worst performer with negative growth of 1.5 per cent as against a positive expansion of 10.7 per cent in the same month last year.

Petroleum refinery products put out a dismal show of just two per cent growth as compared with 10.8 per cent in the same period last year.

Finished steel grew by 5.1 per cent as against 10.2 per cent, while expansion in the cement sector dropped to 3.9 per cent from eight per cent. 

Electricity generation went up by 3.8 per cent as compared to 9.1 per cent. The infrastructure industries have 26.6 per cent weightage in the Index of Industrial Production, which dropped to 7.6 per cent in December 2007 from 13.4 per cent a year ago.

Review meeting soon

Unlike the index of industrial production (IIP), the core sector growth decelerated on sequential basis as well. These six sectors had grown by 4.7 per cent in November 2007 and 4.3 per cent in October this fiscal. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, on Thursday, said the government would soon call a meeting to assess whether the drop in industrial growth was a trend.

Asked whether high interest rate affected the industrial growth, Mr Kamal Nath said, “I do not know but that could be one of the reasons. We are studying the reasons.”