India's core sectors grow by 6.3%, highest in a year
What's the story
India's eight key infrastructure sectors witnessed a growth of 6.3% in August 2025, the highest in over a year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The rise was mainly driven by coal, steel, and cement production. In July 2024, a similar growth rate of 6.3% was recorded for these core sectors.
Sectoral growth
Coal output rises by 11.4%
The production of steel, coal, cement, fertilizers, electricity, and petroleum refinery products all recorded positive growth in August 2025. Coal output rose by an impressive 11.4% year-on-year (YoY), reversing a streak of declines. Steel and cement production also witnessed significant growth at 14.2% and 6.1%, respectively. Fertilizers posted a modest gain of 4.6%.
Mixed results
Performance of other sectors
Despite the positive growth in most sectors, crude oil (-1.2%), natural gas (-2.2%), and refinery products (3%) dragged down the index of eight core industries that measure combined industrial production. Electricity generation grew by 3.1% in August, slightly lower than July's strong performance. The overall performance is crucial for core sector growth as it accounts for nearly 40% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).