New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) The growth rate of India’s core sector industries surged to a 30-month high of 7.9 per cent in September, compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by the strong performance of the iron ore, electricity, coal refinery products, cement, and steel sectors, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.
The production of iron ore surged by as much as 18.4 per cent in September. Owing to intensive use of iron ore in the production process and its contribution to industrial development, it has been included in the list of core industries as a new item in the revised series of the index of core industries (ICI). Accordingly, the number of core industries has increased from eight to nine in the new series, which kicked in for the first time last month.
Electricity generation grew by 11.4 per cent during September while coal production went up by 10.7 per cent. The output of refinery products increased by 10.7 per cent during the month as demand for petroleum goods rose due to the higher level of economic activity.
The cement sector clocked a robust growth of 10.3 per cent while steel production was up 4.9 per cent during the month as demand stayed buoyant due to large government investments in big-ticket infrastructure projects such as highways, ports and railways.
However, fertilisers, natural gas, and crude oil witnessed negative growth in September.
The final index for the month of August 2026 has been revised from 119.2 to 120.4. Accordingly, the year-on-year growth rate has been revised from 4.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent.
Cumulative growth rate of the index of core industries during April-September 2026 now works out to 5.1 per cent compared to 2.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, reflecting the acceleration in the growth of the infrastructure industries.
The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has released the revised series of Index of Core Industries (ICI) with Base Year 2022-23 for the first time in July this year. The new series has replaced the earlier series of ICI with Base Year 2011- 12.
