The Eight Core Industries
#GS-03 Economy
For Prelims
Core industries:
- Core Industries of an economy are the main or the key industries which determine the strength of an economy.
- They make up for about 27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
- The eight core sector industries in decreasing order of their weightage are:
- Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
- The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is calculated by evaluating the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period of time with respect to that during a chosen base period.
- India’s first official attempt to compute the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was done way before the first recommendation on the subject came at the international level.
- Central Statistical Organization, currently known as National Statistics Office (NSO), has been compiling and publishing IIP since the inception of the in 1951.
- IIP has been broadly classified into 3 sectors, viz, Mining, manufacturing, and electricity.
- It can also be divided based on usage into 3 viz, Basic Goods, Capital Goods, and Intermediate Goods.
Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI)
- The ICI is prepared and released by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
- ICI is a measure of the individual and collective performances of production in the eight core industries.
For Mains:
Performance of Core Industries:
- India’s eight core sectors showed an output growth of 4% in November from a revised estimate of a 0.9% uptick in October.
- Cement sector showed a sharp recovery in output from a 3% contraction in October to a rise of 28.6% in November.
- Steel output grew at 8%, which was the fastest pace in six months, however, production levels were 2.35% lower than the levels in October 2022.
- Fertilizer production grew 4% from the levels in November 2021.
- This was alongside the rise of coal and electricity production levels to 3% and 12.1%, respectively.
- However, refinery products hit a 21-month low point, contracting 9.3% in November, compared to a 1% contraction in October.
- Crude oil output reduced for the sixth consecutive month, shrinking 1.1% in November.
- Also, natural gas production fell 0.7%, which marks the fifth consecutive month of contraction.
