India's core sector output grew 7.9% year-on-year in September 2026, the fastest pace in the revised series and a 30-month high, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, October 21.

Source: Livemint

The growth accelerated from a revised 5.9% in August — the August figure was raised from a provisional 4.8% — and compares with 3.1% growth in September last year. The Index of Core Industries stood at 118.3 in September, against 109.6 a year earlier.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Iron ore, electricity and coal led the rise

Iron ore output grew the most, up 18.4% year-on-year, followed by electricity at 11.4%, coal at 10.7%, refinery products at 10.3%, cement at 9.8% and steel at 4.9%, the ministry data showed.

Three sectors shrank: fertiliser production fell 11.7% — its seventh straight month of decline, according to BusinessLine — while natural gas output contracted 4.6% and crude oil production fell 1.4%.

Cumulative growth for April–September 2026 stood at 5.1%, more than double the 2.5% recorded in the same period a year earlier. The core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity and, in the revised series, iron ore — are a key input to the overall Index of Industrial Production.

Analysts cited by the reports were divided on whether the September strength will carry into overall industrial growth, which will become clearer when the industrial production data is released on October 28. The September figures are provisional.