How fast are India's core industries growing?

History

The Index of Core Industries tracks output in coal, natural gas, crude oil, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, electricity and iron ore. The September figure is provisional and is revised the next month.

The figures side by side

How we got this number

1. Take the headline from the Office of the Economic Adviser's press release for September 2026: the index grew 7.9 per cent year on year (provisional), against 5.9 per cent in August 2026 (final).
2. Read the sector growth rates from the same release: iron ore 18.4, electricity 11.4, coal 10.7, refinery products 10.3, cement 9.8 and steel 4.9 per cent; fertilizers, natural gas and crude oil were negative.
3. Plot the 'Overall Index' column of Table 2 in the same release for April to September 2026: 2.7, 3.2, 6.0, 5.0, 5.9 and 7.9 per cent.

What this number does not tell you

• Since the June 2026 reading (released on 20 July 2026), the Office of the Economic Adviser reports a new series with base year 2022-23 that adds iron ore, so there are now nine industries instead of eight. Earlier months in this chart are from the new series, not the old 2011-12 one.
• The September 2026 figure is provisional. The August figure was revised from 4.8 to 5.9 per cent in this release, so first readings can move by a point or more.
• The index measures output volumes of nine industries, not the whole economy; the Index of Industrial Production is the wider measure.

Sources

1. Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, press release on the Index of Core Industries for September 2026, 21 October 2026PROVISIONAL INDEX OF CORE INDUSTRIES FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2026, AND FINAL INDEX FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2026 WITH BASE YEAR 2022-23 Provisional Index of Core Industries for the month of September 2026 (Base Year 2022-23) 1. Key highlights of ICI for the month of September 2026 (i) The Index of Core Industries (ICI) grew by 7.9 per cent in September 2026 (Provisional) on a year-on-year basis, compared with September 2025, higher than the growth rate of 5.9 per cent recorded in August 2026 (Final). (ii) Iron Ore, Electricity, Coal, Refinery Products, Cement, and Steel observed (Y-o-Y) growth rate of 18.4 per cent, 11.4 per cent, 10.7 per cent, 10.3 per cent, 9.8 per cent, and 4.9 per cent respectively, whereas Fertilizers, Natural Gas, and Crude Oil witnessed negative growth in September 2026. (iii) Coal, Refinery Products, Steel and Iron Ore have been the major drivers of overall growth of ICI during recent months. (iv) Cumulative growth rate of ICI during April-September 2026 was 5.1 per cent (Provisional) compared to 2.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
2. Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Table 2: YoY growth rate of ICI (per cent), April to September 2026, 21 October 2026 — the last column is the overall index growth, in per centApr-26 -9.0 -4.2 -3.2 -0.2 -8.5 4.7 8.3 5.5 12.5 2.7 May-26 -9.5 -5.0 -4.2 -8.2 -1.0 5.1 8.4 11.2 19.0 3.2 Jun-26 1.4 -4.8 -4.2 -4.0 -3.3 5.6 9.9 11.4 44.5 6.0 Jul-26 7.6 -3.0 -5.3 3.0 -8.0 1.9 12.7 8.4 29.5 5.0 Aug-26 -3.8 -4.9 -3.6 5.6 -12.4 3.5 11.7 13.1 5.5 5.9 Sep-26 (P) 10.7 -4.6 -1.4 10.3 -11.7 4.9 9.8 11.4 18.4 7.9
3. Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, press release on the Index of Core Industries for September 2026, revision and release schedule, 21 October 20262. The final index for the month of August 2026 has been revised from 119.2 (Provisional) to 120.4. Accordingly, YoY growth rate has been revised from 4.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent. 3. Index of Core Industries, and Year-on-Year (YoY) growth rate for the last 13 months is given at Annexure-I and Annexure-II. ICI for the months of April 2023 onward have been placed on the web portal of OEA at web link (https://eaindustry.nic.in/ici_download_data.asp). 4. Annual and Cumulative Index and YoY growth rate is given at Annexure-III and Annexure-IV . 5. Release Schedule: Provisional index of ICI for a reference month is released on the 20th of the following month (if it is a working day, else on next working day). Accordingly, the ICI for the month of October 2026 will be released on Friday, 20th November 2026.
4. Office of the Economic Adviser, PIB press release on the new series of the Index of Core Industries, 20 July 2026Accordingly, the number of core industries have increased from eight to nine in the new series.

Worked out by us: 2.7 (Overall Index column of the April 2026 row (Apr-26) of Table 2 in the same release, read directly); 6.0 (Overall Index column of the June 2026 row (Jun-26) of Table 2 in the same release, read directly).

Questions people ask

What was core industries growth in September 2026?

7.9% year on year (provisional), up from 5.9% in August 2026 (Office of the Economic Adviser).

Which industries grew fastest?

Iron ore at 18.4%, electricity at 11.4%, coal at 10.7%, refinery products at 10.3% and cement at 9.8%. Fertilizers, natural gas and crude oil fell.

When is the next reading?

The October 2026 index is due on Friday, 20 November 2026, according to the release schedule in the September release.

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This figure is from Office of the Economic Adviser's own release or a report quoting it. We recheck it monthly. If you have a newer or better source, send it to us.