Core sector grows 7.7 pc during April-Dec

Only two sectors namely, petroleum refinery and coal, showed an improvement in their growth rates during the period April-December 2000 over the previous fiscal. Petroleum refinery sector grew at the rate of 25.9 per cent compared to 22 per cent in the first nine months of 1999-2000, while coal grew at 5.9 per cent as against 0.6 per cent in the previous year, it said.

Domestic coal industry is looking foward to a favourable calender year with an expected rise in consumption of coal domestically and favourable developments like hike in international freight rates, oil prices and depreciation of rupee against the dollar and Euro, which has made the sector competitive vis-a-vis imports of other competing products, it said.

Electricity sector grew at the rate of 4.7 per cent during the period April-December 2000 as against 7.5 per cent during the same period last year, it said.

Cumulative growth rate of thermal declined to 6.9 per cent from 10.3 per cent during the same period last year while growth in the hydro sector recorded a negative growth rate of 5.4 per cent as comapred to a negative growth rate of 2.1 last year.

Crude petroleum has shown a growth rate of 1.0 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal over the same period last year whereas during December, 2000 it grew at 1.7 per cent against a negative growth rate of 6.7 per cent during December 1999.

There has been a sharp decline in the growth trend in crude petroleum sector since 1994-95, the release said.

The production-consumption gap for crude oil has been widening since 1994-95 with production failing to match the rising consumption needs. Although this gap was filled by matching imports of cruide oil for all the years since 1994-95, a net shortfall existed for 1999-2000, it said.

In the steel sector, during the current year the growth rate was 12.8 per cent during the period April-December, 2000 in the finished steel sector, against 15 per cent during the corresponding period in 1999-2000.

After attaining a peak growth rate of 21.9 per cent in 1995-96, the sector witnessed a continuous decline till 1998-99 while the finished steel sector registered the lowest growth of 1.3, it said. However, the sector staged a modest recovery during 1999-2000 with a growth rate of 12.5.

In cement, during the first nine months of the current year the growth rate was a low 2.3 per cent, far below that recorded during the corresponding period last year when it was 16 per cent.

During December 2000 the sector recorded a negative growth rate of 12 per cent in sharp contrast to a healthy growth rate of 16 per cent registered during the same month in 1999, it added.