NEW DELHI: Output growth in India’s nine core industries— electricity, refinery products, steel, crude oil, coal, iron ore, cement, natural gas, and fertilisers—rose to a 30-month high of 7.9 per cent in September, the highest level under the new series with 2022-23 as the base year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) on Wednesday.
A sharp rebound in coal, a jump in iron ore, a record growth in refinery products, and a favourable base lifted the headline figure from an upwardly revised 5.9 per cent in August. Additionally, seven of the nine sectors, barring electricity and cement, improved in September against August.
Core output had grown just 3.1 per cent in September last year. On a month-on-month (M-o-M) basis, the overall index fell to a five-month low of 118.3 from 120.4 in August, a sequential fall of 1.74 per cent, even as year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth jumped.
Six of the nine sectors grew during the month, compared with five in August’s provisional data. Iron ore, electricity, coal, refinery products, cement, and steel continued to expand, while fertilisers, natural gas, and crude oil contracted.
Aditi Nayar, chief economist at Icra, said the uptick in core sector growth was broad-based, with seven of the nine sectors, barring electricity and cement, recording an improvement in their performance in September vis-à-vis August 2026. “Notwithstanding the uptick in core output expansion, Icra expects the IIP (index of industrial production) growth to ease somewhat to 6.0-7.0 per cent in September 2026 from 8.0 per cent in August 2026, with an elevated base weighing on the non-core segment growth in the month,” she added.
The core sectors account for about 40 per cent of the IIP that grew at 8 per cent in August. Cumulatively, the index grew 5.1 per cent during April-September 2026, compared to the 2.5 per cent recorded in the same period a year earlier.
Iron ore, which carries a weighting of 4.9 per cent in the index of core industries (ICI), overtook electricity as the fastest-growing sector. Its growth more than tripled to 18.4 per cent from 5.5 per cent in August. Electricity, the heaviest component of the index at 30.9 per cent weighting, grew 11.4 per cent, easing from an upwardly revised 13.1 per cent in August.
Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said the growth shows buoyancy in infrastructure where the government has been spending. “Expenditure on roads has boosted cement, while railway outlay has fed into iron and steel output demand. The heatwave contributed to higher demand for electricity, which registered 11.4 per cent growth. Exports too supported growth,” he added.
Coal, weighted at 5.6 per cent, swung back to growth of 10.7 per cent from a 3.8 per cent contraction in August. That is its fastest growth in 13 months.
Growth in refinery products, the second-heaviest component at 22.6 per cent weighting, rose to a 30-month high of 10.3 per cent from 5.6 per cent in August. This is the strongest reading under the new series, indicating heightened industrial activity as demand for fuel is up. Cement growth slowed to a four-month low of 9.8 per cent from 11.7 per cent in August. Steel growth picked up to a three-month high of 4.9 per cent in September from 3.5 per cent in the preceding month.
Meanwhile, fertilisers fell 11.7 per cent, a slight easing from August’s 12.4 per cent drop. It was the seventh straight month of contraction. This was the fourth print under the new series., which replaced the earlier 2011-12 base and expanded the basket to nine sectors from eight, with the addition of iron ore.
Natural gas output shrank 4.6 per cent after a 4.9 per cent fall in August, extending its run of contraction to 27 consecutive months. The crude oil contraction narrowed to 1.4 per cent from 3.6 per cent, its smallest decline in 11 months.
Source: Business Standard
