Index of Eight Core Industries Output Soars by 8.1%: Ministry Data

India's index of eight core industries (ICIs) rose 8.1 percent year-on-year in September, Commerce and Industry Ministry data showed on Oct 31. In August, the index rose by 12.1 percent. ICI grew 7.8 percent year-on-year in April-September 2023-2024, the data showed.  “The production of coal, steel, electricity, natural gas, refined products, cement and fertilizers increased positively in September 2023 compared to the same month last year”, the statement read. 

The coal sector grew by 16.1 percent in September 2023, compared to 12.1 percent in the same month a year earlier, but decreased from 17.9 percent in August 2023. The production of the crude oil sector decreased by  2.3 percent in September 2022, compared to a marginal 0.4 percent. Industrial production grew by 2.1 percent in August 2023.

Natural gas and refinery products' output grew 6.5 percent and 5.5 percent each in September 2023.

Fertilizer output grew by 4.2 percent, while the steel and cement sectors' production grew by 9.6 percent and each by 4.7 percent. Electricity sector output slowed from 15.3 percent in August 2023 to 9.3 percent in September 2023.

ICI measures the combined and individual performance of eight core industries, including coal,  oil, natural gas, refined products, fertilizers, steel, cement and power. Eight main activities account for 40.27 percent of the mass of products included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).