The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) on February 20, 2026, issued the notification regarding the index of eight core industries (base year: 2011-12=100) for January, 2026.
The following has been stated namely: -
• The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) grew by 4.0% (provisional) in January 2026 compared to January 2025. The cumulative growth for April–January 2025-26 stands at 2.8%, while December 2025 growth was finalized at 4.7%.
• Sectors Showing Positive Growth (Jan 2026): Cement (10.7%), Steel (9.9%), Electricity (3.8%), Fertilizers (3.7%), and Coal (3.1%) recorded year-on-year growth.
• Sectors Showing Decline (Jan 2026): Crude Oil (-5.8%) and Natural Gas (-5.0%) declined, while Petroleum Refinery Products remained unchanged (0.0%) year-on-year.
• Strong growth was seen in Steel (9.8%) and Cement (9.1%), moderate growth in Fertilizers (1.9%) and Electricity (0.8%), marginal rise in Refinery Products (0.1%), while Coal (-0.3%), Crude Oil (-2.1%) and Natural Gas (-3.4%) declined.
• The Eight Core Industries (Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement, Electricity) together account for 40.27% weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making ICI a key indicator of industrial performance
[Press Release: 2230777]
