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India’s Eight Core Sectors Grow 1.7%, Fuel Segments Under Pressure
ICI: India's eight core industries grew by 1.7 percent in April 2026. Read on to understand the full story behind the boom in the cement and steel sectors and the decline in coal and fertilizer.
There was a marginal growth of India's core infrastructure sectors in April 2026 by 1.7%. This minimal increase was caused mostly by the increase in production of cement, steel, and electricity. However, this is worrisome since five out of eight sectors experienced negative growth, hence limiting the possibility of achieving a higher percentage.
From the data provided, it can be seen that there were mainly three major contributors to the activity in April 2026. First was the production of cement, which increased by 9.4%. Second, production of steel increased by 6.2%, while electricity increased by 4.1%. This uptick clearly indicates the continued growth of construction and infrastructure activities in the country.
Contrary to these positive figures, the performance of the energy and fertilizer sectors has significantly weighed on overall growth. Coal production declined by a significant 8.7% in April 2026 compared to the same month last year. Similarly, fertilizer production for the agricultural sector also contracted by 8.6%. Other fuel-related sectors also suffered a disappointing decline, with natural gas production declining by 4.3% and crude oil by 3.9%. Production of petroleum refinery products also fell by 0.5%. It is noteworthy that these eight major industries together account for a substantial 40.27% of the country's Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which provides a direct measure of the country's industrial activity.
Rahul Agarwal, Senior Economist at ICRA Limited, has provided a critical analysis of this data. He believes that despite the favorable base effect of last year, core sector growth has been quite sluggish. Agarwal explained that the contraction in production in five of the eight sectors indicates that economic activity in some sectors has been affected by the ongoing crisis in West Asia. He also noted that the 1.7% growth in April, compared to the revised 1.2% for March 2026, was primarily driven by electricity and cement. Agarwal estimates that this slowdown will also impact the IIP growth figures for April 2026, which will soon be released on a new and much-anticipated base.
