The growth of eight core industries has surged to 7.5 per cent in October 2021 versus 4.5% in September and (-)0.5% in October last year, showed the data released on Tuesday.

“The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 136.2 in October 2021, which increased by 7.5 per cent (provisional) as compared to the Index of October 2020,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an official release.

“The production of Coal, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity industries increased in October 2021 over the corresponding period of last year,” it added.

Coal production surged by 14.6 percent as compared to the same period a year ago, with its cumulative index increasing by 12.2 percent during April-October 2021 as compared to the same period of year 2020.

Petroleum refine production increased by 14.4 percent in October, and its cumulative index increased by 11.7 percent during April-October 2021.

The above industries, along with crude oil, constitute the eight core industries. They comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).