Infrastructure output up 5.1 pc in May year-on-year

Infrastructure output across the country grew 5.1 per cent in May from a year earlier, the Central government said on Monday.The combined index of eight core industries -- comprising 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production -- stood at 138.7 in May which was 5.1 per cent higher as compared to the index of May 2018.Its cumulative growth during April to May 2019-20 was 5.7 per cent, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.Coal production increased by 1.8 per cent in May 2019 over the same month of the previous year, steel by 19.9 per cent, cement by 2.8 per cent and electricity by 7.2 per cent.However, crude oil production declined by 6.9 per cent, petroleum products by 1.5 per cent and fertilisers by 1 per cent, said the statement.These eight core industries account for 40.27 per cent of the country's industrial output.