Page 31 - Policy & Economic Report - July 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC
ROEILPO&RGTAS MARKET

An important development during the month was the introduction of a new ICI series with base year
2022–23, replacing the earlier 2011–12 base year. The revised series expands the coverage of the index
from eight to nine core industries with the inclusion of Iron Ore, recognising its growing importance in
industrial production and infrastructure development. The new series also adopts gross steel
production in place of net production, retains only Raw Coal to eliminate double counting, and aligns the
methodology and weights with the revised Index of Industrial Production (IIP) 2022–23 series, thereby
improving consistency and reflecting the changing structure of the Indian economy.

Figure 16: Index of Core Industries (ICI) and Year-on-Year Growth Rate (June 2025 – June 2026)

Source: Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

Sector-wise, Iron Ore recorded the highest annual growth of 43.9 per cent, followed
by Electricity and Cement, both of which grew by 9.8 per cent, reflecting strong demand from
infrastructure and construction activities. Steel production also expanded by 4.6 per cent,
while Coal recorded a modest growth of 1.4 per cent. In contrast, Natural Gas (-7.4 per cent), Refinery
Products (-4.7 per cent), Crude Oil (-4.2 per cent) and Fertilizers (-3.3 per cent) registered negative growth
during the month, highlighting continued weakness in parts of the energy sector. Iron Ore and Electricity
emerged as the principal contributors to the overall growth in the Index of Core Industries during recent
months.

Figure 17: Sector-wise Growth Rate of Core Industries – May and June 2026

Source - Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

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