Russia, China back India’s inclusion in expanded APEC
Russia and China have endorsed India’s efforts to formalise an iron-clad rejection of international terrorism, amid a call by the three countries to end the era of a unipolar world and rid the globe of the threat of “regime change.”
At the end of their day-long deliberations in the Chinese capital
on Monday, the foreign ministers of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping issued a comprehensive joint communiqué that called for an ambitious reform of an international system that was respectful of the diversity of home-grown political systems.
The communiqué recommended India’s inclusion in an expanded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a 21-nation grouping of Pacific Rim countries. The Ministers endorsed India’s impending membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after elevating the grouping, which is pillared by Russia, China and most of the Central Asian States as “one of the key instruments in promoting multilateral political, security, economic and humanitarian interaction in the region.”
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which India is joining soon, has been holding major counter-terrorism exercises, in anticipation of the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Recognising the threat to stability posed during Afghanistan’s upcoming transitional phase, the three Ministers called for supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in tune with the withdrawal of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Without specifying the “Pivot to Asia” doctrine of the U.S., which involves concentration of forces on China’s periphery, a joint statement by the RIC grouping called for advancing talks in the East Asia summit framework on rule-based security architecture in the Asia-Pacific, driven by the United Nations.
PMO seeks inputs from economists
In an unusual move, in December-end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra wrote to more than a dozen economists seeking specific suggestions on some of the key issues of the upcoming Budget.
Mr. Misra asked the economists for inputs on what the overall thrust of the Budget should be and sought specific suggestions on revenue and expenditure matters, including on how to boost investments — a key issue this Budget.
Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended that the Centre increase public infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy even if this ends up pushing the fiscal deficit above the target of 4.1 per cent of the GDP.
The Finance Ministry officials preparing the Budget, on the other hand, fear that abandoning the committed fiscal consolidation path at a time tax revenues are slack, could attract a sovereign rating downgrade from global agencies.
The Hindu has learnt that Mr. Misra has held a series of meetings with Dr. Subramanian on the economy and the Budget.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other officials involved in Budget preparation were not copied on Mr. Misra’s letter to economists, a copy of which The Hindu has seen.
Mr. Jaitley will present his maiden full-year Budget on February 28.
Punjab taking all power lines underground
Punjab is working its way to becoming the first State to have all its power lines underground in two years, paving the way to having wire-free roads and uninterrupted power supply.
An official spokesperson said that to overcome its power woes and create solid power infrastructure in the State, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. (PSPCL) implemented initiatives to control power theft and scale down transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. This had been done by the shifting of the low-voltage distribution system to the high-voltage type and upgrading and strengthening it, replacement of ordinary lamps with CFLs, addition of capacitors, shifting of meters outside consumer premises and introduction of automated meter reading. These had cumulatively resulted in the dropping of peak demand by about 1,000 MW and savings of 1,200 million units of power a year.
By bagging the best performing power distribution utility award, the official said, Punjab has proved that it was taking earnest steps to becoming a power-surplus State. The T&D systems of major towns was being upgraded and strengthened in a phased manner.
For lowering T&D losses in the State, Rs. 30 crore has been earmarked for 2014-15, Rs. 33 crore for 2015-16 and Rs. 37 crore for 2016-17 and these amounts would be spent on upgrading the transmission lines.
Highlighting the initiative of the PSPCL, which in January bagged three excellent and two distinguished ranks in the National Convention on Quality Concepts, 2014, held in Pune, the official said it had targeted supply of quality power and reduction in losses in all 12,428 villages in the State.
India sees RIC meeting as gateway to Eurasia
India, China and Russia have recommended India’s membership to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as part of a joint communiqué that seemed to reconcile China and Russia’s growing disenchantment with the United States with India’s interest in gaining a more prominent foothold in Eurasia.
As it received Moscow and Beijing’s backing for an entry into APEC, India endorsed the launch of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Observers say that the China-led initiative is meant to counter the less inclusive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), another free trade agreement championed by Washington, but which pointedly excludes Beijing.
On Monday, the Chinese got India and Russia to sign on a proposal to have a new U.N.-driven collective security arrangement in the Asia–Pacific that seemed to counter the U.S. “Pivot to Asia” policy, which provides the doctrinal basis for the amassment of forces by Washington and its allies in the Asia-Pacific, seemingly to contain China’s rise.
The tri-nation communiqué steered by visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterparts from Russia and China —Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi — advocated “the development of an open, inclusive, indivisible and transparent security and cooperation architecture in the region on the basis of universally recognised principles of international law.”
As they accelerated their drive to tap oil and gas in Siberia, the three Ministers “explored potential for cooperation in oil and natural gas production and transportation, as well as in other fields of energy, high tech, environmental protection and connectivity”.
China and Russia have already signed a $400 billion long term energy deal that would ensure supply of gas for 30 years to the Beijing-Tianjin –Hibei industrial belt through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline. The two countries have also signed, in principle, a similar agreement that would bring gas from Russia’s Yamal Plateau to China along the western Altai route.
India’s oil giant ONGC Videsh has also been involved in negotiation for a foothold in the Arctic shelf. The joint communiqué also called for the immediate reform of the international financial system to increase the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries, with a focus on the implementation of the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform by the end of this year.
The three Ministers stressed the need for international financial institutions to provide more resources to promote development. As the Ukrainian crisis swirls and Moscow faces economic curbs, the three Ministers made it plain that they “opposed forced regime change in any country from the outside or imposition of unilateral sanctions based on domestic laws”.
‘India toughens stand with increasing trade’
Granting MFN status to India not on the cards, says Abdul Basit
Pakistan took a hard line position on trade relations with India, saying all bilateral trade was loaded in India’s favour and seeking to draw a link between India’s cancellation of talks and trade ties. “What we have seen is, as the bilateral trade increased, we have also witnessed hardening of India’s position on Jammu & Kashmir as evidenced in the cancellation of foreign secretary level talks in Islamabad which was scheduled in August last year,” Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said at a conference in Delhi on Monday.
Claiming that trade is heavily in favour of India, despite India having granted Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan long back, Mr. Basit indicated that granting MFN status to India was not on the cards as there were strong apprehensions about it in Pakistan.
“If Pakistan were to extend MFN status or Non Discriminatory Market Access status, we do not know what will happen to our economy,” he commented.
As the bigger market, Mr. Basit urged India to take more unilateral initiatives in terms of opening up trade and relaxing norms for import of Pakistani goods to India.
Reiterating that Kashmir remains the core issue between the two nations, Mr. Basit stressed that solving it is paramount and focus on soft issues like trade and culture wouldn’t yield results beyond a point.
The High Commissioner was in Pakistan last week and met the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.
Rural job scheme facing funds crunch
Activists say there is a 45 per cent reduction in outlay
Nine years after the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was passed, activists who first campaigned for the scheme say the National Democratic Alliance government is starving it of funds.
An internal note circulated in the MGNREGA division of the Union Rural Development Ministry, accessed by activists using the Right to Information Act, lists budgetary allocation for the scheme at Rs. 34,000 crore for 2014-15.
The Ministry had approved 227 crore person days of work, which by its own calculations will require approximately Rs. 60,000 crore at the rate of about Rs. 270 each person day, they said. This amounts to a 45 per cent reduction in the outlay for the scheme, activists from the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee said on Monday.
The group includes Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, economists Jayati Ghosh and Reetika Khera and senior lawyer Indira Jaising.
Moreover, the outlay for the scheme has remained nearly constant for the past three years, which, adjusting for inflation, amounts to a decrease, the activists said. Also, release of funds to the States was being delayed and the amounts have been capped. As a result, there has been a 16 per cent decline in employment from the 2013-14 figure, they said.
Compared with 147 lakh person days generated in December 2013, only 123 lakh person days were generated in December 2014, with the decline sharper in poor States such as Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
Wages delayed
By the Ministry’s own online reports, till December 2014 in the financial year 2014-15, 72 per cent of the total wages disbursed were delayed. Moreover, delays in wage payments actually increased over time.
“Over the last nine years, the MGNREGA has had far reaching impacts on the lives of the rural poor. The provision of employment through this law is one of the only legally protected social security mechanisms for the millions of rural poor in the country,” the activists said in a statement.
Risk resilience
“Evidence from independent research studies have shown that the MGNREGA has successfully curbed distress migration, had large effects on consumption and poverty of Dalit and Adivasi households, increased nutritional standards of households, provided risk resilience to small and marginal farmers and vastly expanded the financial inclusion net in the country,” they said asking that the Act be protected and adequate funds be released.
‘Sri Lanka can count on U.S. to be a friend’
Exactly a year after warning Sri Lanka about the pace of its post-war reconciliation, the United States on Monday said it stood with the island nation.
“The United States stands with Sri Lanka,” said Nisha Desai Biswal, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, in Colombo.
Here on a two-day visit Ms. Biswal, following a meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, said that Sri Lanka could count on the U.S. to be a partner and a friend in the way forward.
“Whether it is on rebuilding the economy, on preventing corruption and advancing good governance or ensuring human rights and democratic participation for all of its citizens,” she said, addressing media persons at the Foreign Ministry.
The visiting U.S. diplomat’s remarks appear to be a departure from U.S.’s apparently tough stance on Sri Lanka over the last few years.
Mr. Biswal, during her February 2014 visit to Sri Lanka, had observed that the patience of the international community over Sri Lanka’s pace of reconciliation was wearing thin and that the “deterioration in human rights, transparency and governance was taking a toll on democracy” in the country.
While Washington extended considerable support to Colombo during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s brutal war, U.S.-Sri Lanka ties seemed increasingly strained during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term, particularly over Sri Lanka’s rights record with the U.S. sponsoring a resolution against the island nation at the Human Rights Council.
‘Ambitious programme’
“I am indeed excited to be in Sri Lanka and see for myself the energy that has the world talking about Sri Lanka and about Sri Lanka’s democracy and for all the right reasons,” Ms. Biswal said, less than a month after the country’s January 8 elections that saw former President Mahinda Rajapaksa defeated.
Commending the new dispensation, Ms. Biswal said much of the “ambitious” 100 day-programme put forward by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had “already been accomplished in such a short time.”
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Sri Lanka wanted to raise its relationship with the U.S. to a new level of cordiality.
“I hope to continue this dialogue in Washington next week when I meet the Secretary of State on Feb 12,” he said.
Core sector growth slows to 2.4 % in Dec
Growth in eight core industries slowed to three-month low of 2.4 per cent in December last year, adding to clamour for a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday.
Negative growth in crude oil, natural gas, fertilizer and steel has led to the dip in the overall growth rate of core industries.
The eight core sector industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity — had expanded by 4 per cent in December, 2013.
The growth was 6.7 per cent in November, 2014.
The core sector contributes 38 per cent to the overall industrial production, a parameter that the RBI takes into account while framing its monetary policy.
Coal production grew by 7.5 per cent, refinery products by 6.1 per cent and cement by 3.8 per cent.
Growth in electricity generation declined to 3.7 per cent from 7.6 per cent.
During April-December, the eight sectors grew by 4.4 per cent as against 4.1 per cent in the same period last year.
“We should look at the core sector data over a longer time period rather than monthly estimated data as it may not be representative... Industry is already showing imminent signs of pick-up.
“With a continued policy push by the government in steel intensive areas like infrastructure, the domestic steel demand is expected to increase,” said SAIL Chairman C. S. Verma.
Russia and China have endorsed India’s efforts to formalise an iron-clad rejection of international terrorism, amid a call by the three countries to end the era of a unipolar world and rid the globe of the threat of “regime change.”
At the end of their day-long deliberations in the Chinese capital
on Monday, the foreign ministers of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping issued a comprehensive joint communiqué that called for an ambitious reform of an international system that was respectful of the diversity of home-grown political systems.
The communiqué recommended India’s inclusion in an expanded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a 21-nation grouping of Pacific Rim countries. The Ministers endorsed India’s impending membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after elevating the grouping, which is pillared by Russia, China and most of the Central Asian States as “one of the key instruments in promoting multilateral political, security, economic and humanitarian interaction in the region.”
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which India is joining soon, has been holding major counter-terrorism exercises, in anticipation of the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Recognising the threat to stability posed during Afghanistan’s upcoming transitional phase, the three Ministers called for supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in tune with the withdrawal of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Without specifying the “Pivot to Asia” doctrine of the U.S., which involves concentration of forces on China’s periphery, a joint statement by the RIC grouping called for advancing talks in the East Asia summit framework on rule-based security architecture in the Asia-Pacific, driven by the United Nations.
PMO seeks inputs from economists
In an unusual move, in December-end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra wrote to more than a dozen economists seeking specific suggestions on some of the key issues of the upcoming Budget.
Mr. Misra asked the economists for inputs on what the overall thrust of the Budget should be and sought specific suggestions on revenue and expenditure matters, including on how to boost investments — a key issue this Budget.
Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended that the Centre increase public infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy even if this ends up pushing the fiscal deficit above the target of 4.1 per cent of the GDP.
The Finance Ministry officials preparing the Budget, on the other hand, fear that abandoning the committed fiscal consolidation path at a time tax revenues are slack, could attract a sovereign rating downgrade from global agencies.
The Hindu has learnt that Mr. Misra has held a series of meetings with Dr. Subramanian on the economy and the Budget.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other officials involved in Budget preparation were not copied on Mr. Misra’s letter to economists, a copy of which The Hindu has seen.
Mr. Jaitley will present his maiden full-year Budget on February 28.
Punjab taking all power lines underground
Punjab is working its way to becoming the first State to have all its power lines underground in two years, paving the way to having wire-free roads and uninterrupted power supply.
An official spokesperson said that to overcome its power woes and create solid power infrastructure in the State, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. (PSPCL) implemented initiatives to control power theft and scale down transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. This had been done by the shifting of the low-voltage distribution system to the high-voltage type and upgrading and strengthening it, replacement of ordinary lamps with CFLs, addition of capacitors, shifting of meters outside consumer premises and introduction of automated meter reading. These had cumulatively resulted in the dropping of peak demand by about 1,000 MW and savings of 1,200 million units of power a year.
By bagging the best performing power distribution utility award, the official said, Punjab has proved that it was taking earnest steps to becoming a power-surplus State. The T&D systems of major towns was being upgraded and strengthened in a phased manner.
For lowering T&D losses in the State, Rs. 30 crore has been earmarked for 2014-15, Rs. 33 crore for 2015-16 and Rs. 37 crore for 2016-17 and these amounts would be spent on upgrading the transmission lines.
Highlighting the initiative of the PSPCL, which in January bagged three excellent and two distinguished ranks in the National Convention on Quality Concepts, 2014, held in Pune, the official said it had targeted supply of quality power and reduction in losses in all 12,428 villages in the State.
India sees RIC meeting as gateway to Eurasia
India, China and Russia have recommended India’s membership to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as part of a joint communiqué that seemed to reconcile China and Russia’s growing disenchantment with the United States with India’s interest in gaining a more prominent foothold in Eurasia.
As it received Moscow and Beijing’s backing for an entry into APEC, India endorsed the launch of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Observers say that the China-led initiative is meant to counter the less inclusive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), another free trade agreement championed by Washington, but which pointedly excludes Beijing.
On Monday, the Chinese got India and Russia to sign on a proposal to have a new U.N.-driven collective security arrangement in the Asia–Pacific that seemed to counter the U.S. “Pivot to Asia” policy, which provides the doctrinal basis for the amassment of forces by Washington and its allies in the Asia-Pacific, seemingly to contain China’s rise.
The tri-nation communiqué steered by visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterparts from Russia and China —Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi — advocated “the development of an open, inclusive, indivisible and transparent security and cooperation architecture in the region on the basis of universally recognised principles of international law.”
As they accelerated their drive to tap oil and gas in Siberia, the three Ministers “explored potential for cooperation in oil and natural gas production and transportation, as well as in other fields of energy, high tech, environmental protection and connectivity”.
China and Russia have already signed a $400 billion long term energy deal that would ensure supply of gas for 30 years to the Beijing-Tianjin –Hibei industrial belt through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline. The two countries have also signed, in principle, a similar agreement that would bring gas from Russia’s Yamal Plateau to China along the western Altai route.
India’s oil giant ONGC Videsh has also been involved in negotiation for a foothold in the Arctic shelf. The joint communiqué also called for the immediate reform of the international financial system to increase the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries, with a focus on the implementation of the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform by the end of this year.
The three Ministers stressed the need for international financial institutions to provide more resources to promote development. As the Ukrainian crisis swirls and Moscow faces economic curbs, the three Ministers made it plain that they “opposed forced regime change in any country from the outside or imposition of unilateral sanctions based on domestic laws”.
‘India toughens stand with increasing trade’
Granting MFN status to India not on the cards, says Abdul Basit
Pakistan took a hard line position on trade relations with India, saying all bilateral trade was loaded in India’s favour and seeking to draw a link between India’s cancellation of talks and trade ties. “What we have seen is, as the bilateral trade increased, we have also witnessed hardening of India’s position on Jammu & Kashmir as evidenced in the cancellation of foreign secretary level talks in Islamabad which was scheduled in August last year,” Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said at a conference in Delhi on Monday.
Claiming that trade is heavily in favour of India, despite India having granted Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan long back, Mr. Basit indicated that granting MFN status to India was not on the cards as there were strong apprehensions about it in Pakistan.
“If Pakistan were to extend MFN status or Non Discriminatory Market Access status, we do not know what will happen to our economy,” he commented.
As the bigger market, Mr. Basit urged India to take more unilateral initiatives in terms of opening up trade and relaxing norms for import of Pakistani goods to India.
Reiterating that Kashmir remains the core issue between the two nations, Mr. Basit stressed that solving it is paramount and focus on soft issues like trade and culture wouldn’t yield results beyond a point.
The High Commissioner was in Pakistan last week and met the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.
Rural job scheme facing funds crunch
Activists say there is a 45 per cent reduction in outlay
Nine years after the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was passed, activists who first campaigned for the scheme say the National Democratic Alliance government is starving it of funds.
An internal note circulated in the MGNREGA division of the Union Rural Development Ministry, accessed by activists using the Right to Information Act, lists budgetary allocation for the scheme at Rs. 34,000 crore for 2014-15.
The Ministry had approved 227 crore person days of work, which by its own calculations will require approximately Rs. 60,000 crore at the rate of about Rs. 270 each person day, they said. This amounts to a 45 per cent reduction in the outlay for the scheme, activists from the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee said on Monday.
The group includes Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, economists Jayati Ghosh and Reetika Khera and senior lawyer Indira Jaising.
Moreover, the outlay for the scheme has remained nearly constant for the past three years, which, adjusting for inflation, amounts to a decrease, the activists said. Also, release of funds to the States was being delayed and the amounts have been capped. As a result, there has been a 16 per cent decline in employment from the 2013-14 figure, they said.
Compared with 147 lakh person days generated in December 2013, only 123 lakh person days were generated in December 2014, with the decline sharper in poor States such as Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
Wages delayed
By the Ministry’s own online reports, till December 2014 in the financial year 2014-15, 72 per cent of the total wages disbursed were delayed. Moreover, delays in wage payments actually increased over time.
“Over the last nine years, the MGNREGA has had far reaching impacts on the lives of the rural poor. The provision of employment through this law is one of the only legally protected social security mechanisms for the millions of rural poor in the country,” the activists said in a statement.
Risk resilience
“Evidence from independent research studies have shown that the MGNREGA has successfully curbed distress migration, had large effects on consumption and poverty of Dalit and Adivasi households, increased nutritional standards of households, provided risk resilience to small and marginal farmers and vastly expanded the financial inclusion net in the country,” they said asking that the Act be protected and adequate funds be released.
‘Sri Lanka can count on U.S. to be a friend’
Exactly a year after warning Sri Lanka about the pace of its post-war reconciliation, the United States on Monday said it stood with the island nation.
“The United States stands with Sri Lanka,” said Nisha Desai Biswal, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, in Colombo.
Here on a two-day visit Ms. Biswal, following a meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, said that Sri Lanka could count on the U.S. to be a partner and a friend in the way forward.
“Whether it is on rebuilding the economy, on preventing corruption and advancing good governance or ensuring human rights and democratic participation for all of its citizens,” she said, addressing media persons at the Foreign Ministry.
The visiting U.S. diplomat’s remarks appear to be a departure from U.S.’s apparently tough stance on Sri Lanka over the last few years.
Mr. Biswal, during her February 2014 visit to Sri Lanka, had observed that the patience of the international community over Sri Lanka’s pace of reconciliation was wearing thin and that the “deterioration in human rights, transparency and governance was taking a toll on democracy” in the country.
While Washington extended considerable support to Colombo during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s brutal war, U.S.-Sri Lanka ties seemed increasingly strained during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term, particularly over Sri Lanka’s rights record with the U.S. sponsoring a resolution against the island nation at the Human Rights Council.
‘Ambitious programme’
“I am indeed excited to be in Sri Lanka and see for myself the energy that has the world talking about Sri Lanka and about Sri Lanka’s democracy and for all the right reasons,” Ms. Biswal said, less than a month after the country’s January 8 elections that saw former President Mahinda Rajapaksa defeated.
Commending the new dispensation, Ms. Biswal said much of the “ambitious” 100 day-programme put forward by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had “already been accomplished in such a short time.”
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Sri Lanka wanted to raise its relationship with the U.S. to a new level of cordiality.
“I hope to continue this dialogue in Washington next week when I meet the Secretary of State on Feb 12,” he said.
Core sector growth slows to 2.4 % in Dec
Growth in eight core industries slowed to three-month low of 2.4 per cent in December last year, adding to clamour for a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday.
Negative growth in crude oil, natural gas, fertilizer and steel has led to the dip in the overall growth rate of core industries.
The eight core sector industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity — had expanded by 4 per cent in December, 2013.
The growth was 6.7 per cent in November, 2014.
The core sector contributes 38 per cent to the overall industrial production, a parameter that the RBI takes into account while framing its monetary policy.
Coal production grew by 7.5 per cent, refinery products by 6.1 per cent and cement by 3.8 per cent.
Growth in electricity generation declined to 3.7 per cent from 7.6 per cent.
During April-December, the eight sectors grew by 4.4 per cent as against 4.1 per cent in the same period last year.
“We should look at the core sector data over a longer time period rather than monthly estimated data as it may not be representative... Industry is already showing imminent signs of pick-up.
“With a continued policy push by the government in steel intensive areas like infrastructure, the domestic steel demand is expected to increase,” said SAIL Chairman C. S. Verma.
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