India's core industries demonstrated resilience in April 2026, with the Combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increasing by 1.7% compared to April 2025, according to reports from Business Standard. This provisional growth rate represents a significant improvement from the 1.2% growth recorded in March 2026. The ICI measures the combined performance of eight core industries including Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity, which collectively account for 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). As per ICRA senior economist Rahul Agrawal, the uptick in April growth was largely driven by electricity generation and cement, with a narrower drag from fertilizers.
Steel production emerged as the standout performer with a 6.2% increase in April 2026 over the previous year, as reported by Business Standard. Cement production continued its impressive trajectory with a 9.4% surge, reaching a three-month high and significantly higher than the 4.7% growth recorded in March 2026. Electricity generation also contributed positively with a 4.1% increase, also reaching a three-month high during the month. These three sectors were the primary drivers behind the overall ICI growth, offsetting declines in other key industries.
Despite the positive performance of key sectors, several industries recorded declines that weighed on overall growth. Coal production decreased by 8.7% in April 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to Business Standard reports. Crude Oil production declined by 3.9% and Natural Gas production fell by 4.3% during the same period. Fertilizer production also declined by 8.6%, though this was an improvement from the sharper 24.6% decline recorded in March 2026. Petroleum Refinery Products decreased by 0.5%. As per ICRA's Agrawal, the contraction in five of the eight sectors suggests that economic activity in some sectors was impacted by the West Asia crisis, which could translate into subdued growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to March 2025-26 stands at 2.7%, as reported by Business Standard. This represents a modest improvement compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Steel and cement sectors showed particularly strong annual performance, with steel production's cumulative index increasing by 9.5% and cement's cumulative index rising by 8.7% during the full financial year. Electricity generation also contributed positively with a 1.0% cumulative increase during April to March 2025-26. The India's industrial production grew 4.1% year-on-year in March, down from 5.1% in February, highlighting the volatility in industrial performance. For the full financial year 2025-26, crude oil and natural gas each declined 2.8%, while coal output fell 0.5%, and refinery products and fertilizers each recorded marginal contractions of 0.1%.
