The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) registered a provisional growth of 3.8 percent in March 2025, as compared to the same month in 2024. This growth was supported by increased production in six key sectors: Cement, Fertilisers, Steel, Electricity, Coal, and Refinery Products. However, output declined in the Crude Oil and Natural Gas sectors during the same period.
The ICI tracks the performance of eight fundamental industries – Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement, and Electricity – which together account for 40.27 percent of the weight in the overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Performance of Core Industries in March 2025:
Coal: Output grew by 1.6 percent year-on-year in March 2025. For the full financial year 2024–25 (April to March), coal production rose by 5.1 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
Crude Oil: Production fell by 1.9 percent in March 2025 on a year-on-year basis. The cumulative index for the fiscal year showed a 2.2 percent decline.
Natural Gas: The steepest decline was recorded in natural gas output, which contracted by 12.7 percent in March 2025. Over the fiscal year, the decline stood at 1.2 percent.
Refinery Products: A marginal increase of 0.2 percent was observed in March 2025. Cumulatively, the sector posted a 2.8 percent growth for FY 2024–25.
Fertilizers: Production in this sector rose significantly by 8.8 percent in March 2025. Over the fiscal year, the growth in output stood at 2.9 percent.
Steel: The steel industry registered a 7.1 percent increase in production in March 2025. The cumulative rise in production for the fiscal year was 6.7 percent.
Cement: Cement production saw the highest increase among all sectors with an 11.6 percent rise in March 2025. Cumulative growth from April 2024 to March 2025 stood at 6.3 percent.
Electricity: Power generation rose by 6.2 percent in March 2025. For the full fiscal year, growth in electricity generation reached 5.1 percent.
The revised growth rate of the Eight Core Industries Index for December 2024 stood at 5.1 percent. Over the entire fiscal year 2024–25, the cumulative ICI growth has been provisionally estimated at 4.4 percent, relative to the corresponding period of the previous year.
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