COVID casualty: India’s core industrial output down 8.5% in Aug

The deceleration rate in the production of India's eight major industries continued in August, official data showed on Wednesday.

As per the data, the Index of Eight Core Industries for August declined by 8.5 (provisional) per cent as compared to August 2019.

It had declined by (-) 8 per cent (revised) in July, compared to decline of (-) 12.9 per cent in June.

Though not comparable, the ECI index had slipped by (-) 0.2 per cent in August 2019.

"The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 117.6 in August 2020, which declined by 8.5 (provisional) per cent as compared to the Index of August, 2019. Its cumulative growth during April to August, 2020-21 has been (-) 17.8 per cent," said the Office of Economic Advisor, DPIIT, on the Index of Eight Core Industries for August 2020.

"Final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for May 2020 is revised to (-) 21.4 per cent."

India's eight core industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

These industries comprise of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity.