- India’s eight infrastructure sectors contracted by a record 6.5% in March after touching an 11-month high in February, hit by a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of covid-19.
- Data released by the industry department on Thursday showed sectors including crude oil (-5.5%), natural gas (-15.2%), refinery products (-0.5%), fertilizers (-11.9%), steel (-13%), cement (-24.7%) and electricity (-7.2%) saw a contraction in output in the month, except coal which grew 4%.
- India’s core sector grew just 0.6% in FY20 lagging a 4.4% rise in FY19, which will have an adverse impact on factory output and subsequently on economic growth. The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).