FPJ News Service New Delhi

The combined Index of eight Core Industries (ICI) hit an 8-month low of 0.5% in April 2025. The slow growth can be attributed to a negative growth in the production of crude oil, refinery products and fertilisers. The eight sectors, coal, crude oil, refinery products, natural gas, steel, cement, electricity and fertilizer, had expanded by 6.9% in April 2024.

In March 2025, these sectors grew by 4.6%. The previous low growth rate was recorded in August 2024, when these sectors expanded by (-) 1.5%. The growth rate in the production of coal, natural gas, steel, and electricity moderated to 3.5%, 0.4%, 3%, and 1%, respectively, in April 2025.

The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production. The final growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries for January 2025 was observed at 5.1%. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to March 2024-25 is 4.5% as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Coal production increased by 3.5%, crude oil output fell 2.8%, natural gas increased by 0.4%, petroleum refinery and fertilizer production declined by 4.5% and 4.2%, respectively. Steel production increased by 3.0%, cement by 6.7%, and electricity by 1% in April 2025 over April 2024.