India’s eight core sectors’ output growth declined to 1.8 per cent in August on annual basis as against 13.4 per cent in same month last year, showed government data on Friday. The growth rate was 6.1 per cent in July.The production of Steel and Fertilizers recorded positive growth in August 2024.In August, steel output slowed to 4.5 per cent against 10.9 per cent in the same month last year. Natural gas production contracted by 3.6 per cent during the month under review compared to an expansion of 10 per cent in August 2023.India’s coal production decreased by 8.1 per cent in August, 2024 against an expansion of 17.9 per cent in August 2023. Crude Oil production dipped by 3.4 per cent in August YoY in the month under review.Cement and electricity output slowed to 3 per cent and 5 per cent in August, respectively.During April-August this fiscal, the output of core sectors rose 4.6 per cent against 8 per cent in the same period last fiscal. The ICI measures the combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural Gas, Refinery Products and Steel. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).