India's Core Industries Register Modest Growth of 0.5% in April 2025
Updated: May 21, 2025 04:05:59pm

India's Core Industries Register Modest Growth of 0.5% in April 2025
New Delhi, May 21 (KNN) India's Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) recorded a modest growth of 0.5 percent in April 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data released today.
Five of the eight sectors—Cement, Coal, Steel, Electricity, and Natural Gas—posted positive growth during the month.
The eight core industries, which include Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilisers, Steel, Cement, and Electricity, constitute 40.27 percent of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making them crucial indicators of industrial activity in the country.
Cement production emerged as the strongest performer with a robust growth of 6.7 percent in April 2025 compared to April 2024.
Coal and Steel sectors also showed steady growth at 3.5 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. Electricity generation recorded a marginal increase of 1.0 percent, while Natural Gas production grew slightly by 0.4 percent.
However, three sectors registered decline during April 2025. Petroleum Refinery Products witnessed the steepest drop at 4.5 percent, followed by Fertilisers at 4.2 percent and Crude Oil at 2.8 percent.
The final growth rate for ICI in January 2025 stood at 5.1 percent. For the complete fiscal year 2024-25 (April to March), the cumulative growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries reached 4.5 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.
Looking at the annual performance, Steel emerged as the best performer with a cumulative growth of 6.9 percent during fiscal year 2024-25, followed by Cement at 6.3 percent. Electricity and Coal sectors also demonstrated strong performance with cumulative growth rates of 5.2 percent and 5.1 percent respectively.
Despite the monthly decline in Petroleum Refinery Products and Fertilisers, both sectors maintained positive cumulative growth for the fiscal year 2024-25 at 2.8 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. Natural Gas and Crude Oil were the only sectors to register cumulative decline for the fiscal year at 1.2 percent and 2.2 percent respectively.
The latest figures indicate a mixed performance across core sectors, suggesting potential challenges in maintaining industrial momentum in the new fiscal year despite the overall positive trajectory observed during 2024-25.
(KNN Bureau)