Core Sector Data: Eight major sectors of the country registered growth of 6.3 percent in May due to good growth in coal, natural gas and power sector output. The output of these eight sectors increased by 6.7 percent in April. The growth rate of these key sectors in May 2023 was 5.2 percent. These sectors include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and power.
Official data showed that production of fertiliser, crude oil and cement recorded negative growth in May. Thus, the production of these sectors has increased by 6.5 per cent in the first two months (April-May) of the current financial year, compared to 4.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the last financial year. Let us tell you that the combined contribution of these eight major sectors to the country’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is 40.27 percent.
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Details of foreign exchange reserves
The country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $816 million to $653.71 billion in the week ended June 21. Foreign exchange reserves decreased by $2.92 billion to $652.89 billion in the previous week. Foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of $655.82 billion on June 7.
According to Reserve Bank data, foreign exchange assets, an important part of currency reserves, declined by $106 million to $574.13 billion in the week ended June 21. The Reserve Bank said the value of gold reserves increased by $988 million to $56.96 billion.
Fiscal deficit in the current financial year
In the first two months of the current financial year, the central government’s fiscal deficit was only three percent of the annual estimate. The fiscal deficit, the gap between government expenditure and revenue, stood at 11.8 per cent of the budget estimate for 2023-24 in the first two months of the last financial year. For the current fiscal year (2024-25), the government estimates a fiscal deficit of Rs. 16,85,494 crore i.e. 5.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).