India's Eight Core Industries Index Shows Modest 0.5% Growth in May 2026
The Office of the Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, released the provisional Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) data for May 2026, showing a modest year-on-year growth of 0.5%. The ICI, which has a base year of 2011-12=100, measures production across eight core industries that comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making it a critical leading indicator of industrial activity.
The performance across the eight sectors was mixed in May 2026. Steel production (weight: 17.92%) increased by 5.0% year-on-year, cement production (weight: 5.37%) grew by 8.4%, and electricity generation (weight: 19.85%) showed strong growth of 8.7%. However, five sectors recorded declines: coal production (weight: 10.33%) decreased by 9.3%, crude oil production (weight: 8.98%) declined by 4.6%, natural gas production (weight: 6.88%) fell by 4.9%, petroleum refinery production (weight: 28.04%) dropped by 8.7%, and fertilizer production (weight: 2.63%) saw a minor decline of 0.9%.
The cumulative growth rate for the April-May 2026-27 period was 1.1% compared to the same period last year. Sector-wise cumulative performance shows steel (+5.2%), cement (+8.3%), and electricity (+7.1%) maintaining positive growth, while coal (-9.1%), crude oil (-4.2%), natural gas (-4.5%), refinery products (-4.7%), and fertilizers (-4.5%) remained in negative territory.
The release noted that data for April 2026 is final at 1.8% growth, while May 2026 data is provisional and subject to revision. The index incorporates electricity generation data from renewable sources since April 2014 and includes Hot Rolled Pickled and Oiled (HRPO) steel products under 'Cold Rolled (CR) coils' since March 2019. The next release for June 2026 data is scheduled for Monday, 20th July 2026.