India's eight core infrastructure industries recorded a 1.7% growth in April 2026, according to latest provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This represents an improvement from the upwardly revised 1.2% growth recorded in March 2026, as reported by The Times of India. The eight core sectors constitute 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures output in the country's industrial sector. As per ANI, the improvement in core sector growth remained limited despite a favourable base effect and was driven largely by a few sectors. Rahul Agrawal, senior economist at Icra, noted that the growth in core sector output remained quite subdued despite a favourable base, with the uptick largely driven by electricity generation, cement, and a narrower drag from fertilisers.
The energy sector faced significant headwinds during April 2026, with coal production contracting by 8.7% year-on-year, worsening from the 4% decline recorded in March 2026. Crude oil production fell 3.9% for the eighth consecutive month, while natural gas output declined 4.3% and petroleum refinery products contracted 0.5% after posting marginal growth of 0.1% in March. These declines were attributed to the impact of the blockade of the strait of Hormuz in the wake of the conflict in the Persian Gulf region. Fertiliser production shrank 8.6% in April, though the pace of decline moderated significantly from the steep 24.6% drop recorded in March. According to ANI, five of the eight sectors registered a contraction in output during the month, barring steel, cement and electricity generation.
Despite energy sector challenges, several key industries demonstrated strong growth. Cement emerged as the strongest performer with output rising 9.4% year-on-year, indicating a revival in construction and infrastructure activity after a brief slowdown, compared with 4.7% growth in March. Steel production remained robust, expanding 6.2%, though lower than the 7.7% increase recorded in the previous month. Electricity generation accelerated sharply to 4.1% growth in April from 0.8% in March, offering signs of improving industrial and commercial demand conditions. This represents a three-month high for electricity generation. Among the individual sectors, steel remained the strongest annual performer with cumulative growth of 9.5% during April-March FY26, followed by cement at 8.7% growth.
The conflict in West Asia is expected to have weighed heavily on the industrial sector, which had earlier slipped to a five-month low of 4.1% in March 2026. According to ANI, this is likely to reflect in tepid IIP growth in April 2026, for which data will be released on the much-awaited new base. The latest core sector numbers come against the backdrop of softer industrial activity, with India's IIP growth slowing to 4.1% in March from 5.2% in February, dragged down by weaker manufacturing and electricity output. For the full financial year 2025-26, the cumulative growth rate of the eight core industries stood at 2.7% compared with the previous year, highlighting the broader slowdown in industrial expansion despite pockets of resilience in infrastructure and construction-linked sectors.
