India's core sector growth surges to 7.9% in September 2026

India's core sector growth accelerated to 7.9% in September, a significant jump from 5.9% in August. The growth was led by iron ore, electricity, and coal, while fertilisers, natural gas, and crude oil production declined during the month.

India's core sector growth accelerated to 7.9 per cent in September, compared with 5.9 per cent in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.

Sector-wise Performance

The data also highlighted that the growth in the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) was driven by strong performance in iron ore, electricity, coal, refinery products, cement and steel, while fertilisers, natural gas and crude oil recorded negative growth during the month.

Iron ore production recorded the highest growth at 18.4 per cent year-on-year in September, followed by electricity at 11.4 per cent and coal at 10.7 per cent. Refinery products grew 10.3 per cent, cement output increased 9.8 per cent, and steel production rose 4.9 per cent during the month.

In contrast, fertiliser production declined 11.7 per cent in September, while natural gas output contracted 4.6 per cent and crude oil production fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year.

Context and Cumulative Data

The eight core industries comprise coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. These industries are key components of the country's industrial production index.

The ministry said coal, refinery products, steel and iron ore have been the major drivers of overall core sector growth in recent months.

The cumulative growth rate of the core industries index stood at 5.1 per cent during April-September 2026, compared with 2.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to provisional data.

The ministry also shared that the final index for August 2026 was revised upwards to 120.4 from the provisional level of 119.2. Consequently, the year-on-year growth rate for August was revised to 5.9 per cent from the earlier estimate of 4.8 per cent.

The September 2026 figures are provisional. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the index for October 2026 is scheduled to be released on November 20. (ANI)

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