Data Alert
Eight core industries' growth falls to 2.3% in Feb from 4.7% in Jan
This story was originally published at 18:09 IST on 20 March 2026
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--India Feb eight core industries' growth 2.3% vs 4.7% in Jan
--India Apr-Feb eight core industries' growth 2.9% vs 4.4% year ago
NEW DELHI – The growth of India's eight core industries slowed to 2.3% on year in February, because of fall in production of refinery products, natural gas, and crude oil sectors, data released Friday by the commerce ministry showed. The growth in production of the electricity sector was also marginal for the month.
Factory output had grown 3.4% in February 2025 and the January print was revised higher to 4.7% from the provisional estimate of 4.0%.
Sequentially, the index of eight core industries fell 8.4% in February. Core sector output in Apr-Feb grew 2.9%, lower than 4.4% in the same period a year ago.
Among the eight sectors, production of three sectors fell, while the growth of the remaining five was lower than the prints seen in January. The cement sector was the best performer among the eight, with the output increasing 9.3% in February. But it was lower than the 11.3% rise in January.
Steel sector's output grew 7.2% on year in February, slower than the 11.5% growth in the previous month. Electricity sector's output was only 0.5% higher on year compared with the growth of 5.2% seen in January.
"Even before the start of the West Asia crisis, the growth of the core sector output in India slowed to a three-month low of 2.3% in February," ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said in a note. "The sequential halving in on-year growth from 4.7% in January was relatively broad-based, with only two sectors, namely, cement and steel, eking out a YoY rise that was above 3.5%," Nayar said.
The output of crude oil fell year-on-year for the sixth consecutive month in February, while natural gas production was down for the twentieth month in a row. Crude oil output fell 5.2% on year in February. Natural gas production fell 5.0% in February. Production in the natural gas sector had contracted 5.0% in January as well.
Based on the eight core sector output growth in February, the Index of Industrial Production growth for the month could moderate to around 4.00% compared with 4.8% in January, according to Nayar. The eight core industries have a combined weight of 40.3% in the IIP.
The following tables give the year-on-year changes in the index of the eight infrastructure sectors in February:
| Feb-26 | Jan-26 | Feb-25 | |
| Coal | 2.3% | 3.1% | 1.7% |
| Crude oil | (-)5.2% | (-)5.8% | (-)5.2% |
| Natural gas | (-)5.0% | (-)5.0% | (-)6.0% |
| Refinery products | (-)1.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Fertilisers | 3.4% | 3.7% | 10.2% |
| Steel | 7.2% | 11.5% | 6.9% |
| Cement | 9.3% | 11.3% | 10.7% |
| Electricity | 0.5% | 5.2% | 3.6% |
| Overall | 2.3% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Apr-Feb 2025-26 | Apr-Feb 2024-25 | |
| Coal | 0.0% | 5.6% |
| Crude oil | (-)2.5% | (-)2.2% |
| Natural gas | (-)3.5% | (-)0.1% |
| Refinery products | (-)0.1% | 3.1% |
| Fertilisers | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Steel | 9.7% | 6.6% |
| Cement | 9.2% | 5.6% |
| Electricity | 0.9% | 5.0% |
| Overall | 2.9% | 4.4% |
End
Reported by Krity Ambey
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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