The index of eight core industries grew 1.7% in April, an increase compared to a degrowth of 0.4% in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Wednesday. Five of the eight industries saw contractions in April.
However, India's core sector output in March was revised to a growth of 1.2%.
Its cumulative growth rate was at 2.7% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year.
The combined index of eight core industries grew for the sixth consecutive month, with three of eight core sectors witnessing expansions in April. The production of cement, steel and electricity recorded positive growth.
The decline comes amid a slump in coal output, which fell by 8.7% year-on-year. Cement output on the other hand rose by 9.4% year-on-year, however in the preceding month, the growth stood at 4.7%, indicating a recovery after a slight slump in construction activity.
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Steel production remined consistent as it grew by 6.2% in April after a 7.7% climb in March. However, there was a slump indicating a decline in production. The coal sector witnessed an downtick of 8.7%, after a 4% drop in the previous month.
Fertiliser output decreased by 8.6% in April, after 24.6% degrowth in March.
The output of petroleum refinery products, which hold the most weightage in the index of eight core industries, decreased by 0.5% after posting a 0.1% advance in the previous month.
The IIP growth during the month of March softened to 4.1%, dragged down by a slip in manufucatring and electricity output.
This marked a significant decline as compared to the acceleration of 5.2% recorded in February. However, it stayed ahead of the estimate of 2.7%, as projected by the analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
The jitters from the US-Iran war, which disrupted energy supplies, weighed on the manufacturing sector. The output declined to 4.3% from 5.9% in February. Power generation slumped to 0.8% from 2.3%.
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