India’s Core Industries Growth Jumps to 7.9% in September 2026
Key Facts
India’s core industries index grew 7.9% year on year in September 2026, up from a revised 5.9% in August, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry published via PIB. The index measures the performance of core industries whose inputs feed into broader industrial activity. The monthly reading came as cumulative growth reached 5.1% during April–September 2026, compared with 2.5% in the corresponding period a year earlier. The comparison highlights an improvement in the index’s pace during the first six months of the fiscal year, alongside broader sectoral gains in September. Industrial production data for September are due on October 28, providing a wider reading of industrial activity.
Iron ore led the sectors in growth, with output rising 18.4% year on year in September. Electricity increased 11.4%, coal 10.7%, refinery products 10.3%, cement 9.8% and steel 4.9%, according to the ministry. Six of the nine core industries therefore recorded positive growth during the month. The figures show that gains spanned mining, energy and construction-related materials, though the pace varied clearly from one sector to another. The ministry has described coal, refinery products, steel and iron ore as key drivers of the index’s growth in recent months.
By contrast, fertilizer output contracted 11.7% year on year in September, while natural gas declined 4.6% and crude oil 1.4%. The nine sectors thus split between six that expanded and three that contracted. Fertilizer recorded the steepest decline among the contracting sectors, while the drop in crude oil was less pronounced. The divergence means the acceleration in the overall index coincided with continued weakness in specific sectors, even as energy and basic materials industries grew. In the available details, the ministry did not attribute the contraction in fertilizer, natural gas or crude oil to any specific cause.
Year-on-year comparisons require reading the index in light of a methodological change to its series. The ministry rebased the index to 2022-23 and added iron ore, bringing the number of covered core industries to nine from eight. It also adopted gross production data to calculate the steel index. This background helps explain the index’s scope and composition when comparing readings, particularly as iron ore posted the highest growth rate among the listed sectors in September. In September 2025, the overall index grew 3.1% year on year, providing a historical comparison with the 7.9% reading for September 2026.
The core industries data coincided with other indicators showing an acceleration in private-sector activity in India during October. The HSBC Flash India Composite PMI rose to 56.7 points from 55.9 in September, marking the fastest expansion in private-sector activity since June, according to Moneycontrol. The purchasing managers’ index covers private-sector activity, while the core industries reading focuses on output from specific sectors, so the two readings offer different perspectives on economic activity. The latest available official reading of the industrial production index before the September data showed annual growth of 8.0% in August. September data for the index are due on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, while the preliminary reading of the core industries index for October was scheduled for publication on November 20, 2026.