In the ‘Index of Eight Core Industries’, which one of the following is given the highest weight?

1. Coal production
2. Electricity generation
3. Fertiliser production
4. Steel production

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• The monthly Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) is a production/output of eight core industries.
• The Office of Economic Advisor (Ministry of Commerce and Industries) releases ICI.
• The objective is to provide an advanced indication of the production performance of core industries before the release of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) by the Central Statistics Office (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation).
• The core sectors account for about 40.3% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• Core Industries Weightage (In percentage):
  • Petroleum & Refinery production – 28.04
  • Electricity generation – 19.85
  • Steel production – 17.92
  • Coal production – 10.33
  • Crude Oil production – 8.98
  • Natural Gas production – 6.88
  • Cement production – 5.37
  • Fertilisers production – 2.63

Answer: (b) Electricity generation; Difficulty Level: Medium