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Informist, Monday, Jun. 22, 2026

--India May eight core industries' growth 0.5% vs 1.8% in Apr

--India Apr-May eight core industries' growth 1.1% vs 1.1% year ago

--India May eight core industries' growth of 0.5% lowest in 7 months

NEW DELHI – The output of India's eight core industries rose 0.5% on year in May, the slowest pace of growth in seven months, data released Monday by the commerce ministry showed. Factory output growth in May was weighed down by a fall in production of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and coal--reflecting the impact of the energy supply shock caused by the war in West Asia.

Factory output had risen 1.2% in May 2025. The April print of growth in eight core industries was also revised slightly higher to 1.8% from the provisional 1.7%. Sequentially, the index of eight core industries rose 2.9% in May. Core sector output in Apr-May rose 1.1%, the same growth as a year ago.

Production in the coal sector was the worst hit in May and the lowest in 10 months. The coal sector output fell 9.3% on year in May against a decline of 8.8% in April. Refinery products sector output fell 8.7% on year in May, much sharper than the 0.5% fall a month ago.

The output of crude oil declined 4.6% on year in May from 3.9% in April, seen as an implication of the West Asia war. The natural gas sector production fell 4.9% in May against the 4.2% fall reported in April. 

Among the eight sectors, production in the electricity, cement, and fertiliser sectors improved in May from the output seen in April. The electricity sector was the top performer, with output growing at a two-year-high pace of 8.7% in May from 5.6% in the preceding month, amid higher demand due to the summer. "Renewables contributed to this growth as coal-based generation took a secondary role," Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said in a note. 

The output of the cement sector grew 8.4% in May, up from 8.2% in April. Fertiliser sector output declined 0.9% in May, but the fall in the sector's production narrowed from a decline of 8.6% in April.

Steel sector production growth moderated to 5.0% last month from 5.5% in April. These sectors continued to grow on the back of higher infrastructure activity in the areas of roads and housing, besides railways, according to Sabnavis.

"All told, energy-related sectors--coal, natural gas, crude oil and refined petroleum products--remain a big and intensifying drag on the headline y/y (year-on-year) pace, and total momentum is falling deeper into the red," Miguel Chanco, chief emerging Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note. "Infrastructure sectors--cement and steel--continue to be supportive, but their combined top-line boost continues to fade."

Economists expect growth in the Index of Industrial Production to moderate to around 1-3% in May, slowing down from 4.9% in April. The eight core industries have a combined weight of 40.3% in the IIP. "And, looking at the bigger picture, waning core industries growth points to intensifying downside risks to still-sturdy GDP growth," Chanco added.

The following tables give the year-on-year changes in the index of the eight infrastructure sectors in May:

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry

End

Reported by Shweta

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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