Core sector grows 5% in June; iron ore included in revised index

Production growth of nine core infrastructure sectors grew 5% year-on-year in June 2026 due to a sharp rise in iron ore production and higher electricity and cement output, official data released on Monday showed.

The data was the first under the revised ICI series with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the earlier 2011-12 series.

The government has also added iron ore to the index, increasing the number of core sectors to nine.

The commerce and industry ministry, in a statement, said that owing to intensive use of iron ore in the production process and its contribution to industrial development, it has been included in the list of core industries as a new item in the revised series.

Iron ore output surged 43.9% in June, while electricity and cement production grew 9.8% each.

Steel output rose 4.6% and coal production increased 1.4%.

According to the official data, production of natural gas, crude oil, refinery products and fertilisers declined during the month.

The government said iron ore and electricity have been the main contributors to the overall growth in the core sector in recent months.

During the April-June period of 2026-27, the core sector expanded 3.6% compared with 1% growth in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Commenting on the data, ICRA Ltd said the pickup in June was not broad-based and was led by an improvement in the performance of just four of the nine sectors.

It added that fertiliser output contracted for the fourth consecutive month, likely reflecting the continued adverse impact of the West Asia tensions, while the growth in steel output slumped to a 21-month low of 4.6% in the month.

The revised series also recalibrates sectoral weights based on the new IIP series, with electricity carrying the highest weight at 30.93%, followed by refinery products at 22.57% and steel at 17.58%.

The government has discontinued the old 2011-12 base series. The next ICI release, for July 2026, will be issued on August 20 under the new series.