New Delhi, July 23 (IANS): The timely release of stimulus packages has helped the infrastructure sector post a good growth rate last month despite the economic slowdown, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma claimed here Thursday.

Referring to the 6.5 percent growth rate achieved by the six core infrastructure sectors in June, Sharma said: "It's clear that the government's stimulus packages and the budgetary proposals have had a positive impact. It's showing results now."

"In fact many sectors like coal, steel, cement has registered a double digit growth which is a very encouraging sign," he told reporters on the sidelines of a business meet.

India's infrastructure output growth was 2.8 percent in May.

The minister said he was a "little surprised" about the way markets reacted to the budget.

"The budget is not supposed to be exciting. It has to be pragmatic and we are seeing the results now. I am hopeful that we will be back on the high growth track soon."

The six core infrastructures industries, comprising crude oil, refined petroleum fuels, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel, with a collective weight of 26.7 percent in the industrial production index, had grown by 5.1 percent in June last year.

Among them, coal output expanded the most this June with a growth of 14.7 percent, followed by 12.8 percent for cement, 7 percent for electricity, 5.3 percent for finished steel and 4.3 percent for crude.

The output of refined petroleum products, however, fell 3.7 percent.