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India’s eight major core industries registered a growth rate of 2.9% in February 2025, the lowest in five months, according to official data. This marks a significant decline from 7.1% growth in February 2024, and also a slowdown from 5.1% recorded in January 2025. The last time growth was lower was in September 2024, when it stood at 2.4%.
Key Sectors Witness Decline in Output
The production growth of several major industries weakened in February:
Coal: 1.7% (down from 11.6% in Feb 2024)
Refinery Products: 0.8% (down from 2.6%)
Steel: 5.6% (down from 9.4%)
Electricity: 2.8% (down from 7.6%)
Crude Oil and Natural Gas: Both sectors reported negative or flat growth
This widespread decline impacted overall industrial momentum.
Fertilizer and Cement Output Show Resilience
Despite the slowdown, fertilizer and cement production showed robust growth:
Fertilizer: +10.2%
Cement: +10.5%
These sectors helped cushion the overall decline in the core sector index.
April–February FY25 Core Sector Growth Falls to 4.4%
During the first 11 months of the current fiscal year (April 2024 to February 2025), the core sector recorded a 4.4% growth rate, sharply lower than the 7.8% growth in the same period of FY 2023–24.
The eight core industries—coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity—make up 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Experts Expect IIP to Decline Further
Aditi Nair, Chief Economist at ICRA Ltd., commented,
“The decline to a five-month low in core sector growth is partly due to a high base effect. However, five of the eight sectors showed weaker performance in February 2025 compared to the previous month.”
She added that ICRA expects the IIP growth rate to fall to 3.0–3.5% in February, down from 5.0% in January 2025.
