India’s Jan infrastructure output grows 7.8% y/y, fastest in four months
2023.02.28 08:04
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Labourers work at a construction site of a metro rail station in Kolkata, India July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s infrastructure output expanded 7.8% year-on-year in January, its fastest pace in four months, driven by a surge in fertiliser, coal and electricity output, government data showed on Tuesday.
Seven out of the eight sectors posted year-on-year output growth in January, according to the data. Infrastructure output last grew faster at 7.9% year-on-year in September 2022.
Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors including coal and electricity accounting for nearly 40% of industrial output, rose 7.9% in the April-January period, according to the data.
Growth in fertiliser output was at 17.9% in January, compared with a contraction of 2% in the corresponding period last year, the data showed.
“This growth should be interpreted as providing supplies mainly for non-crops as well as replenishing inventory,” Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis said.
Traction in sectors such as roads, railways and metals is a good sign for the economy on the investment front, Sabnavis added.
