Bouyed by impressive performance in cement and steel sectors, infrastructure industries recorded an impressive 5.2 per cent growth during 2002-03, a 50 per cent increase over the 3.5 per cent growth recorded in the previous year.

This is despite a slowdown recorded by six infrastructure industries as a group since November 2002 when on month by month basis growth rate was lower than the corresponding months of the previous year.

Overall, cement spearheaded infrastructure growth by recording an increase of 8.8 per cent during 2002-03 followed by 8.7 per cent growth in the steel sector, which the analysts attributed to an upsurge in housing and construction activities shaped by proactive government policies.

Petroleum refinery products followed finished steel to record 4.9 per cent growth last fiscal against only 3.7 per cent recorded in 2001-02 whereas coal, crude petroleum and electricity registered growth rates of 4.3 per cent, 3.3 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively in 2002-03, according to provisional figures released by the government on Wednesday.

In the sector-wise analysis of the six infrastructure segments, while cement led the growth last fiscal, its growth rate of 5.3 per cent in March 2003 was almost half of the 10.1 per cent rate achieved during March 2002. Cement production totalled 11.3 crore (113 million) tonnes last fiscal with the March figure pegged at 1.13 crore (11.3 million) tonnes.

Again, in finished steel the same trend was seen with growth in March 2003 at 5.3 per cent less than half of the growth rate seen in the same month of the previous year. Total steel production in 2002-03 was estimated at 3.44 crore (34.4 million) tonnes.

Petroleum refinery products registered a significant growth during the period under review, with 10.2 per cent in March 2003 against a decline of 3.2 per cent in the same month of the previous year.

Total production in 2002-03 is estimated at 10.47 crore (104.7 million) tonnes, with 94.12 lakh (9.4 million) tonnes produced in March alone. In the case of coal, growth in March this year was more than twice that of the same month in 2002 at 6.9 per cent; total production in 2002-03 was pegged at 33.7 crore (337 million) tonnes with March 2003 production at 3.5 crore (35 million) tonnes.

In a deviation from the trend observed in other sectors, electricity production registered a negative growth rate of one per cent in March this year against 5.2 per cent growth seen in the same month in 2002. Total production was estimated at 53,143 crore (531.43 billion) Kwh; in March 2003 the figure was 4617 crore (46.17 billion) Kwh, according to the official figures.

The growth rate of crude petroleum also suffered in March this year at a mere 0.9 per cent against 3.9 per cent in March 2002; total crude production was pegged at 3.31 crore (331 million) tonnes.