Eight core sectors posted growth of 5.2 per cent in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

Though the growth in India’s core sector during the previous month was slower compared to that in February 2024, which came in at 7.1 per cent, it was higher than March 2023 at 4.2 per cent.

The output of the eight core sectors, which includes coal, crude oil, steel, cement, electricity, fertilisers, refinery products and natural gas, was 7.5 per cent in 2023-24, a tad lower year on year as against 7.8 per cent in 2022-23.

The fall in core sector growth in March was due to five of the eight sectors seeing their output either contract or grow at a slower pace compared to that of the previous month, with crude oil production posting growth of just 2 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in February 2024.

The slower increase in core sector output in March means industrial growth, according to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), may also edge lower as the eight core industries make up more than 40 percent of the weight of the IIP.

Data on the IIP growth for March will be released on May 12. In February, IIP had risen to 5.7 per cent from 4.14 per cent in January.