India's eight industries designated as "core sector" recorded a cumulative growth of 4 percent in January 2026 over the corresponding month of the previous year, but slower than 4.7 percent in December 2025, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Monday, February 23.
Core sector growth in April-January FY 2025-26 was 2.8 percent higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The eight major industries are steel, fertilizers, cement, coal, crude oil, natural gas, refined products and electricity.
Crude oil production fell 5.8 percent in January 2026, higher than the 5.6 percent contraction observed in December 2025. Natural gas production fell 5 percent, also more than a 4.4 percent contraction in December 2025.
Cement production rose 10.7 percent year-on-year in January, up from 13.7 percent in December. Steel production increased 9.9 percent, up from 10.1 percent in December.
Fertilizer production rose 3.7 percent and electricity production rose 3.8 percent, helping offset weakness in the oil and gas industry. Coal production also rose 3.1 percent in January. The growth rates of the fertilizer, electricity and coal sectors in December were 4.1%, 6.3% and 3.6%, respectively.
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