New Delhi: India’s eight core industries posted a modest recovery in April 2026, with output expanding 1.7% year-on-year after the revised 1.2% growth recorded in March, signalling resilience in infrastructure-linked sectors despite persistent weakness in energy and commodity production.
The latest provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry showed the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) extending its expansion streak for the sixth consecutive month. The rebound was powered largely by stronger production in cement, steel and electricity, even as five of the eight sectors continued to contract during the month.
The core industries index, which tracks coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity, carries a 40.27% weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making it a critical barometer of industrial momentum in the economy.
Cement emerged as the strongest performer in April, with output rising 9.4% year-on-year compared with 4.7% growth in March, indicating a revival in construction and infrastructure activity after a brief slowdown. Steel production also remained robust, expanding 6.2%, although lower than the 7.7% increase recorded in the previous month.
Electricity generation accelerated sharply to 4.1% growth in April from 0.8% in March, offering signs of improving industrial and commercial demand conditions.
However, the broader picture remained uneven as energy-linked sectors continued to struggle. Coal production contracted 8.7% year-on-year in April, worsening from the 4% decline recorded in March, reflecting sustained pressure on mining activity and fuel demand patterns.
Crude oil output fell 3.9%, while natural gas production slipped 4.3% during the month. Petroleum refinery products, which hold the highest weightage of 28.04% in the core industries index, also remained under pressure, declining 0.5% after posting marginal growth of 0.1% in March.
Fertiliser production shrank 8.6% in April. While the sector remained in contraction territory, the pace of decline moderated significantly from the steep 24.6% drop recorded in March.
The latest core sector numbers come against the backdrop of softer industrial activity. India’s IIP growth slowed to 4.1% in March from 5.2% in February, dragged down by weaker manufacturing and electricity output. Even so, the reading remained above Bloomberg analysts’ estimate of 2.7%.
Manufacturing output growth eased to 4.3% in March from 5.9% in February, while power generation slipped to 0.8% from 2.3%. Supply disruptions and volatility triggered by the US-Iran conflict weighed on industrial activity, particularly energy-intensive sectors.
For the full financial year 2025-26, the cumulative growth rate of the eight core industries stood at 2.7% compared with the previous year, highlighting the broader slowdown in industrial expansion despite pockets of resilience in infrastructure and construction-linked sectors.
Among the individual sectors, steel remained the strongest annual performer with cumulative growth of 9.5% during April-March FY26, followed by cement at 8.7%. Electricity generation grew 1% during the period.
In contrast, cumulative output declined across several key sectors during FY26. Coal production slipped 0.5%, crude oil and natural gas each contracted 2.8%, while petroleum refinery products and fertilisers both declined 0.1%.
The latest data underscores a fragmented industrial recovery, with infrastructure-oriented sectors showing resilience while energy and commodity production continue to face demand and supply-side pressures.