India’s eight core infrastructure industries recorded a provisional growth of 1.7 per cent in April 2026 compared with the corresponding month last year, according to data released by the government on Wednesday.
The growth in the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) was supported by higher output in steel, cement and electricity, while sectors such as coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and fertilisers registered declines.
The eight core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — together account for 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, steel production increased by 6.2 per cent in April 2026 compared with the same month last year, while cement output rose by 9.4 per cent. Electricity generation also recorded a growth of 4.1 per cent during the month.
However, coal production declined by 8.7 per cent year-on-year in April, while crude oil output fell by 3.9 per cent and natural gas production contracted by 4.3 per cent.
Petroleum refinery products recorded a marginal decline of 0.5 per cent, while fertiliser production dropped by 8.6 per cent during the month.
The government said the final growth rate of the core sector for March 2026 stood at 1.2 per cent.
For the full financial year 2025-26, the cumulative growth rate of the eight core industries stood at 2.7 per cent compared with the previous year.
Among the sectors, steel recorded the highest cumulative annual growth at 9.5 per cent during 2025-26, followed by cement at 8.7 per cent. Electricity generation rose by 1 per cent over the year.
On the other hand, crude oil and natural gas output declined by 2.8 per cent each during the financial year, while coal production contracted by 0.5 per cent.
The ministry noted that electricity generation data includes renewable energy sources since April 2014. It also said data for April 2026 remain provisional and may be revised based on updated information from source agencies.
The next release of the Index of Eight Core Industries for May 2026 is scheduled for June 22, 2026.
