India Core Industries Index Growth Moderates to 4.8% in August 2026
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry released provisional estimates showing the Index of Core Industries (ICI) grew by 4.8% year-on-year in August 2026, slightly lower than the revised growth rate of 5.0% recorded in July 2026. The ICI, with base year 2022-23, measures the production performance of eight core industries: coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity, which have a combined weight of 40.27% in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Sectoral Performance Shows Mixed Trends
Performance across the eight core industries was divergent in August 2026. Cement production showed the strongest growth at 12.5% YoY, followed by electricity generation at 11.6% growth. Iron ore production grew by 5.5%, while steel output increased by 3.4% and refinery products recorded 2.6% growth. However, four sectors contracted: coal production declined by 3.8%, natural gas output fell by 4.9%, crude oil production decreased by 3.6%, and fertilizers production witnessed a significant contraction of 12.4%.
Revised Data and Cumulative Performance
The final index for July 2026 was revised downward from 121.2 to 120.8, resulting in a revision of the YoY growth rate from 5.4% to 5.0%. The cumulative growth rate for the April-August 2026 period stood at 4.3% (provisional estimate), which is significantly higher than the 2.4% growth recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. This indicates sustained improvement in core infrastructure output during the first five months of the fiscal year.
Historical Context and Weighted Contributions
The overall ICI index value for August 2026 stood at 119.2 (provisional), compared to 113.7 in August 2025. The sector weights in the index are: electricity (30.932%), refinery products (22.572%), steel (17.584%), coal (5.596%), cement (4.41%), iron ore (4.905%), natural gas (3.841%), crude oil (7.43%), and fertilizers (2.731%). The data release follows the standard schedule, with provisional ICI estimates published on the 20th of the following month (or next working day), and the next release for September 2026 scheduled for October 21, 2026.