India’s core sector growth eased to 5.4% in July, driven by iron ore, electricity, and cement, but energy-linked segments faced continued declines, highlighting an uneven recovery in the industrial landscape.
India’s core sector growth eased in July even as key industrial inputs continued to expand at a healthy pace, according to provisional figures from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Index of Core Industries rose 5.4% from a year earlier, slower than the upwardly revised 6% increase in June, but still well ahead of the 4.3% cumulative gain recorded over April-July, compared with 1.5% in the same period a year ago.
The strongest performance came from iron ore, which surged 29.5% in July and remained the main driver of growth alongside electricity and cement. Electricity output rose 9%, cement production increased 13.1%, coal gained 7.6%, steel advanced 2.9% and refinery products grew 2.7%. Recent reports from Indian business media also show that June had already marked a five-month high for core sector activity, helped by iron ore, electricity and cement, after the index was revised to a new base year of 2022-23 and expanded to include iron ore.
Even so, the recovery was uneven. Natural gas output fell 3.7% in July, crude oil declined 5.3% and fertiliser production dropped 8%, continuing weakness in several energy-linked segments. That pattern is consistent with June data, when natural gas, crude oil, refinery products and fertilisers also slipped even as broader industrial momentum improved. For April-July, iron ore, cement and electricity led cumulative growth, while contracting energy sectors weighed on the overall picture.
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