New Delhi: India’s core sector output, measured by the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), grew by 3.7 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, driven by higher production of cement, steel, electricity, fertiliser and coal, according to government data released on Tuesday.
The final growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries for November 2025 stood at 2.1 per cent.
On a cumulative basis, the ICI registered a growth of 2.6 per cent (provisional) during April–December of the 2025–26 financial year, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, data from the Commerce Ministry showed.
As per the data, steel production rose by 6.9 per cent in December 2025 compared to December 2024. The cumulative steel index increased by 9.5 per cent during April–December 2025–26 over the same period last year.
Coal production increased by 3.6 per cent in December 2025 on a year-on-year basis, though its cumulative index declined by 0.7 per cent during April–December 2025–26 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Fertiliser production rose by 4.1 per cent in December 2025 over December 2024, while its cumulative index increased by 1.7 per cent during April–December 2025–26.
Cement production recorded a sharp increase of 13.5 per cent in December 2025 compared to the same month last year. Its cumulative index rose by 8.8 per cent during April–December 2025–26.
Electricity generation was up by 5.3 per cent in December, with its cumulative index registering a marginal increase of 0.3 per cent during the April–December period of the current financial year.
Meanwhile, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a strong growth of 6.7 per cent (quick estimate) in November 2025, compared to 5 per cent in November last year. The manufacturing sector grew by 8 per cent on a year-on-year basis during the month.
The acceleration in manufacturing activity is attributed to the fact that 20 out of 23 industry groups at the NIC two-digit level recorded positive growth in November 2025 over November 2024.
With inputs from IANS