Advertisement
What really powers the cloud? Behind every Google search, A...
A lot of what defines a home isn’t visible at handover. I...
Private equity has played a significant role in shaping Indi...
Luxury real estate is one of the most talked-about segments ...
Airports play a much bigger role than just enabling travel -...
India's core infrastructure sectors recorded a five-month high growth of 5% in June, supported by strong output from cement, electricity and the newly added iron ore sector. The government has revised the Index of Core Industries (ICI) with a new base year of 2022-23 and expanded it to include nine sectors by adding iron ore. While cement and electricity posted robust growth, output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and fertilisers declined. Experts said the improvement was driven by a few sectors rather than broad-based growth across the economy.
India's production across the nine core infrastructure sectors grew by 5% in June, marking the highest monthly expansion in the past five months, according to official data released earlier this week. The improvement was mainly driven by higher production of cement, electricity and iron ore, while several other key sectors continued to record weaker performance.
The growth compares with 1.1% recorded in the same month last year and 3.2% in the previous month.
The latest data has been released under the revised Index of Core Industries (ICI) with 2022-23 adopted as the new base year, replacing the earlier 2011-12 series. As part of the revision, the government has expanded the index from eight to nine core sectors by including iron ore, citing its growing importance in industrial production and infrastructure development.
According to the official data, production of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and fertilisers declined during the month, indicating that the overall improvement was not uniform across all sectors.
Among the best-performing sectors, cement production increased by 9.8%, reflecting sustained construction and infrastructure activity. Electricity generation also grew by 9.8%, while iron ore production surged by 43.9% under the revised series, making it one of the strongest contributors to overall core sector growth.
Coal production rose 1.4%, recovering from a 6.8% contraction recorded in the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, steel output expanded by 4.6%, slower than the 10.2% growth reported a year ago, indicating moderation in production despite continued demand from infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
During the April-June quarter of FY2026-27, the combined output of the nine core industries grew 3.6%, compared with 1% growth during the corresponding period last year, pointing to a stronger start to the financial year despite mixed performance across sectors.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated that iron ore had been added to the revised Index of Core Industries because of its extensive use in industrial production and its significant contribution to the country's industrial development. The revision is expected to provide a more representative picture of India's industrial activity, particularly for sectors linked to infrastructure and manufacturing.
Commenting on the latest data, ICRA Ltd said the improvement in June was not broad-based, as the higher growth was largely supported by only four of the nine core sectors. The rating agency noted that fertiliser production contracted for the fourth consecutive month, likely due to the continuing impact of geopolitical tensions in West Asia on input supplies. It also observed that steel production growth slowed to a 21-month low of 4.6%, reflecting moderation in industrial momentum.
The Index of Core Industries measures the performance of sectors that together account for around 40.27% of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). As these sectors supply key inputs to manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, their performance is considered an important indicator of overall industrial activity and economic growth.
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
