- Why in news
- On 20 April 2026, the Commerce Ministry released the Index of Eight Core Industries for March 2026. The combined index fell 0.4% (provisional) year on year, and the April 2025 to March 2026 growth was 2.6%.
- What it is
- The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) tracks the output of eight key infrastructure industries. It uses base year 2011-12=100. These industries make up a large share of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and give an early signal of industrial trends.
- Eight industries
- ICI covers coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.
- Share in IIP
- The eight industries carry 40.27% of the weight of items in the IIP.
- Smallest weight
- Fertilizers have the lowest weight at 2.63%; they fell 24.6% in March 2026.
- Renewables
- Since April 2014, electricity generation from renewable sources is also included.
- Weight in IIP
- The eight core industries make up 40.27 per cent of the weight of items in the IIP.
- Renewables included
- Since April 2014, electricity generation from renewable sources is also included.
- Revision
- The latest month's data is provisional and is revised or finalised later; December 2025 data was final.
Don’t confuse with ICI vs IIP: ICI covers eight industries and is a subset in terms of items; IIP covers mining, manufacturing and electricity broadly and is released by MoSPI.
Don’t confuse with Weights in ICI vs in IIP: The ICI weights are the IIP weights scaled pro rata so that they add up to 100, so they differ from the weights in IIP.
Economy terms and data: 42 Prelims questions since 2013, rising in recent years; they test what a term or instrument means. In Mains, 12 news-triggered questions.
Why it matters
- Gives an early indicator of industrial and infrastructure activity before IIP data.
- Core industries give an early signal of industrial output since they are 40.27 per cent of IIP.
- Their output reflects infrastructure and construction demand.
Problems
- Provisional data is revised later, and weak fertilizer, oil and coal output pulled down the March 2026 figure.
- Crude oil and natural gas output keep falling, raising import dependence.
- Provisional data gets revised, and the index covers only eight sectors, so it can mislead about all industry.
Way forward
- Raise domestic crude oil, gas and fertilizer output to cut import dependence.
- Raise domestic oil and gas output through exploration and better investment terms.
- Keep infrastructure spending going to support steel and cement demand.
Put in your answer
FY26 cumulative growth: ICI grew 2.6% (provisional) in April-March 2025-26 over the previous year.
March 2026 growth: Combined ICI fell 0.4% in March 2026 year on year.
Cumulative growth: ICI grew 2.8 per cent in April-January 2025-26 over the same period last year.
- 2012Prelims Q39Which listed industries belong to the eight core industries with 37.90% weight?
- 2021Mains GS3 · Q12Discuss how infrastructure investment drives rapid and inclusive economic growth in India.
- 2015Prelims Q8Which industry has the highest weight in the Index of Eight Core Industries?
- 2017Mains GS3 · Q12Why has industrial growth lagged GDP growth post-reform, and can policy changes help?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) of India:
Which one of the following is correct?
True or false?
1 of 8
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.Petroleum refinery products carry the highest weight among the eight core industries in the index.
True. Refinery products weigh 28.04%, the highest.
2.Coal has the highest weight among the eight core industries.
False. Coal weighs 10.33%; refinery products (28.04%) are highest.
3.Electricity generation from renewable sources is excluded from the index.
False. Renewables have been included since April 2014.
4.The ICI is released by the Reserve Bank of India.
False. It is released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT).
5.Fertilizers have the largest weight among the eight core industries.
False. Petroleum refinery products have the largest weight (28.04 per cent); fertilizers have the smallest (2.63).
6.Fertilizers, Cement and Coal are among the eight core industries, but Fertiliser-linked Chemicals and Petrochemicals are not.
True. The eight are Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity; petrochemicals are not listed.
7.Electricity generation data in the ICI excludes renewable sources.
False. Since April 2014, renewable electricity generation is included.
8.In January 2026, crude oil and natural gas production both declined over January 2025.
True. Crude oil fell 5.8 per cent and natural gas 5.0 per cent.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.