India's core sector contracts 0.4% in March after 2.8% growth
Business
India's core sector (think big industries like coal, steel, and electricity) shrank by 0.4% in March 2026, flipping from a solid 2.8% growth just one month earlier.
The main reason? Big drops in fertilizers, crude oil, coal, and electricity production.
Fertilizers fall 24.6% annual growth 2.6%
Fertilizer output fell hard (down 24.6%), with coal and crude oil also slipping by 4% and 5.7%. Electricity dipped a bit too.
On the bright side, natural gas jumped up by 6.4%, while steel and cement had small gains.
Even with this March dip, the year's overall growth stayed positive at 2.6%.
The government says electricity data now includes renewable energy sources and periodic revisions are made as updated inputs become available, so keep an eye out for April's update on May 20.