The core industrial output accelerated to a four-month high in the last month of calender year 2025, driven primarily by strong steel and cement production.
The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), which tracks coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity, recorded 3.7 per cent (provisional) growth year-on-year in December 2025.
Notably, five sectors–coal, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity, posted positive growth during the month.
The eight core industries together account for 40.27 per cent of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making the data a key indicator of broader industrial momentum.
On a cumulative basis, core sector output grew by 2.6 per cent during April–December 2025-26, compared with the corresponding period a year ago, reflecting continued pressure from weak performance in oil and gas-linked segments.
Cement, steel lead December rebound
Among individual sectors, cement production surged 13.5 per cent in December, while steel output rose 6.9 per cent, underpinning resilience in construction and infrastructure-linked demand.
Electricity generation increased by 5.3 per cent, and fertiliser output grew 4.1 per cent during the month.
Coal production rose by 3.6 per cent in December, although its cumulative output for April–December remained 0.7 per cent lower than last year.
Oil and gas remain a drag
The recovery in headline growth was partially offset by continued weakness in hydrocarbons. Crude oil production declined by 5.6 per cent year-on-year in December, while natural gas output fell 4.4 per cent.
Refinery products production also slipped 1.0 per cent during the month.
Cumulatively, crude oil output contracted 1.9 per cent and natural gas 3.2 per cent during April–December 2025-26, highlighting structural challenges in domestic production.
Refinery output, however, remained broadly flat, with 0.1 per cent cumulative growth over the period.
The government also revised the final core sector growth for November 2025 to 2.1 per cent, confirming the sequential improvement seen in December, even as year-on-year momentum moderated.