April figures paint a grim picture: Steel production declines by 83.9%, coal falls 15.5%

• In view of the nationwide lockdown, various industries viz. Coal, Cement, Steel, Natural Gas, Refinery, Crude Oil etc experienced substantial loss of production, said an official statement

• The growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for April 2020 declined by 38.1 percent

New Delhi: The data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday paints a grim picture — steel production declined by 83.9 percent, while cement production fell by 86 percent, coal production went down by 15.5 percent and crude oil production by 6.4 percent in April. The growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for April 2020 declined by 38.1 percent (provisional) compared to decline of 9 percent (provisional) in the previous month of March. In view of the nationwide lockdown during April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various industries viz. Coal, Cement, Steel, Natural Gas, Refinery, Crude Oil etc experienced substantial loss of production, said an official statement released by the ministry.

The final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for January remains unchanged at 2.2 percent. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 

The details of the Index of Eight Core Industries is given below:

Coal: Coal production (weight: 10.33 percent) declined by 15.5 percent in April over April. Its cumulative index declined by 0.4 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Crude Oil: Crude Oil production (weight: 8.98 percent) declined by 6.4 percent in April, over April 2019. Its cumulative index declined by 5.9 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural Gas: The Natural Gas production (weight: 6.88 percent) declined by19.9 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index declined by 5.6 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Refinery Products: Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04 percent) declined by 24.2 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index increased by 0.2 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Fertilizers: Fertilizers production (weight: 2.63 percent) declined by 4.5 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index increased by 2.7 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel: Steel production (weight: 17.92 percent) declined by 83.9 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index increased by 3.4 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Cement: Cement production (weight: 5.37 percent) declined by 86.0 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index declined by0.9 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Electricity: Electricity generation (weight:19.85 percent) declined by 22.8 percent in April over April 2019. Its cumulative index increased by1.0 percent during April to March 2019-20 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

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