Core Industries Index Grows 7.9 Per Cent in September 2026

The Index of Core Industries (ICI) for September 2026 expanded by 7.9 per cent over the same month a year earlier, according to provisional figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 21 October 2026. The reading is sharply better than the 5.9 per cent growth finally recorded for August 2026, and is measured on the new base year of 2022-23.

Which sectors drove the growth

Six of the nine core sectors grew on a year-on-year basis in September 2026. Iron ore led the list, while fertilizers, natural gas and crude oil were the three sectors that contracted during the month.

The cumulative picture

For the first half of the financial year, the April to September 2026 period, the cumulative growth rate of the index stood at 5.1 per cent on a provisional basis. In the matching six months of the previous year the figure was only 2.5 per cent, so the index has roughly doubled its pace of expansion over the half year. The release also notes that coal, refinery products, steel and iron ore have been the main engines of overall ICI growth in recent months.

August revised upwards

The final index for August 2026 was revised from the provisional 119.2 to 120.4. With that revision the year-on-year growth rate for August moved up from 4.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent, which is why the August comparison figure quoted in this release is higher than the one published a month earlier.

How the index works

The Index of Core Industries measures output in nine infrastructure sectors — coal, natural gas, crude oil, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, electricity and iron ore. A provisional index for any reference month is put out on the 20th of the following month, or the next working day if that date is a holiday; accordingly the October 2026 index is due on 20 November 2026. Because these are the industries that feed construction, power and transport, the ICI is read as an early signal of industrial momentum.