India core sector growth rises to four-month high of 3.7% in December

Cement and steel output led the expansion, while electricity, fertilisers and coal also posted gains

India’s eight core infrastructure sectors grew to a four-month high of 3.7 per cent in December, the government reported on Tuesday. However, core sector growth was still below 5.1 per cent in December.

Sector composition

The eight sectors include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity. These comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). This performance will affect overall industrial growth data, which will be released on January 28, though it is expected to be lower than November’s.

IIP outlook

“ICRA expects the IIP growth to ease somewhat to 4.5-5 per cent in December 2025 from 6.7 per cent in November 2025, with the sharp turnaround in the performance of the electricity sector offsetting the likely slowdown in the manufacturing segment,” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist with ICRA.

Mixed performance

Meanwhile, data showed that cement production increased by 13.5 per cent in December 2025 over December 2024, steel production by 6.9 per cent, Electricity generation by 5.3 per cent, fertilizer production by 4.1 per cent, and coal production by 3.6 per cent.

Output declines

During this period, crude oil production declined by 5.6 per cent, natural gas production by 4.4 per cent, and petroleum Refinery production by 1 per cent.

Published on January 20, 2026