India core sector growth slows down

The Index of Core Industries (ICI) grew by 5.4 per cent year-on-year in July 2026, as per provisional estimates from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This was a decline from the 6 per cent growth in June. For the period from April to July 2026, cumulative growth was 4.3 per cent, up from 1.5 per cent in the same period the previous year. Iron ore led with a 29.5 per cent increase, followed by cement at 13.1 per cent and electricity at 9 per cent. Coal grew by 7.6 per cent, and refinery products rose by 2.7 per cent. However, natural gas and crude oil outputs fell by 3.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively, while fertiliser production dropped by 8 per cent.