Core Sector Growth Stalls at 0% in October, Collapse in Energy/Coal Offsets Infrastructure Gains
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Institutions: Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) | Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) | Ministry of Power
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for October 2025 recorded 0% year-on-year growth, remaining unchanged at 162.4. This is a sharp deceleration from the 3.3% growth in September 2025 and represents a significant slowdown in momentum for the eight sectors that constitute 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The cumulative growth rate for April-October 2025-26 slowed to 2.5%.
The stagnation was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in the energy and mining complex:
Electricity: Declined by 7.6%.
Coal: Declined by 8.5%.
Natural Gas: Declined by 5.0%.
Crude Oil: Declined by 1.2%.
Structural Strength: Infrastructure Resilience
The flat headline performance was maintained only by robust growth in industries reliant on government capital expenditure and consumption:
Steel: Grew by 6.7% (supported by increased demand from big-ticket infrastructure projects).
Cement: Grew by 5.3%.
Fertilizers: Grew by the fastest rate, at 7.4%.
Refinery Products: Grew by 4.6%.
The ICI data signals a divergence between government-led infrastructure investment (resilient growth in Steel and Cement) and underlying power/commodity demand (contraction in Electricity and Coal). To sustain the 2.5% cumulative growth and accelerate the economy, the government must address the structural factors causing the decline in the energy complex and ensure that robust infrastructure spending translates into broader demand across all core inputs.
What does the sharp contraction in the Coal and Electricity sectors imply for the industrial economy?β The severe contraction in Coal (-8.5%) and Electricity (-7.6%) is often a proxy for subdued industrial demand or the effect of weather-related factors (post-monsoon cooling) on power consumption, which translates to lower mining activity. For policymakers, the collapse in these key input sectors signals a deceleration of industrial momentum that could dampen the overall IIP growth, requiring immediate policy review of energy and manufacturing demand drivers.
What is the ICI? β The Index of Eight Core Industries tracks the monthly output of Indiaβs largest industrial sectors that supply key inputs to manufacturing and construction. Changes in the ICI often precede trends in the broader Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Follow the full news here: INDEX OF EIGHT CORE INDUSTRIES (BASE YEAR: 2011-12=100) FOR OCTOBER, 2025