Revised Index of Core Industries (ICI) Series with Base Year 2022–23

Recently, the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released the revised series of the Index of Core Industries (ICI) with 2022–23 as the new base year, replacing the earlier 2011–12 base year series.

What is the Index of Core Industries (ICI)?

¨     The Index of Core Industries (ICI) measures the growth in the output of eight core industries that form the backbone of India's industrial sector.

¨     It serves as an early indicator of industrial activity in the economy.

¨     The ICI is considered a leading indicator of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as the core industries account for a significant share of industrial output.

Key Findings

¨     For the first time, Iron Ore has been included as the 9th core industry, increasing the number of core sectors from eight to nine.

¨     The ICI grew by 5.0% (YoY) in June 2026, improving from 3.2% in May 2026, marking the fastest growth in five months.

¨     Iron Ore (43.9%), Electricity (9.8%), Cement (9.8%), Steel (4.6%), and Coal (1.4%) recorded positive growth.

¨     Natural Gas (-7.4%), Crude Oil (-4.2%), Refinery Products (-4.7%), and Fertilisers (-3.3%) recorded negative growth.

¨     Iron Ore and Electricity emerged as the major contributors to the overall growth of the ICI.

¨     The cumulative growth of the ICI during April–June 2026 stood at 3.6%, compared with 1.0% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Key Changes in the Revised ICI

¨     The base year has been revised from 2011–12 to 2022–23.

¨     Iron Ore has been included as a new core industry owing to its intensive use in industrial production and contribution to industrial development.

¨     The Steel Index is now compiled using gross production data instead of net production data to align with the revised Index of Industrial Production (IIP) methodology.

¨     Only Raw Coal has been retained in the Coal category, while Coal Middling and Washed Coal have been excluded to eliminate double counting.

¨     The sectoral weights have been derived from the revised IIP (2022–23) and proportionately adjusted to 100.

¨     A Linking Factor of 1.47 has been introduced to facilitate comparison between the old and revised ICI series.

Index of Core Industries (ICI)

¨     The ICI is a monthly production volume index compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

¨     It measures the production performance of nine core industries, providing an advance indication of

¨     industrial growth before the release of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

¨     The ICI accounts for 40.27% of the weight of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

¨     The provisional ICI is released on the 20th of every month (or the next working day if the 20th is a holiday).

¨     The ICI is a Laspeyres-type weighted production volume index, measuring changes in production relative to the base year.

Importance of the ICI

¨     Serves as an early indicator of industrial activity before the release of the IIP.

¨     Helps policymakers assess the performance of infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

¨     Widely used by the Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NITI Aayog, banks, and infrastructure planners for economic analysis and policy formulation.

¨     Reflects the health of sectors that have a significant impact on overall economic and industrial growth.

Need for Changing the Base Year

¨     Reflects Structural Changes: Captures changes in India’s industrial structure, production patterns and economic composition since 2011–12.

¨     Improves Representativeness: Updates sectoral weights using the latest industrial output data, making the index more representative of the present economy.

¨     Aligns with Revised IIP: Harmonises the methodology and weights with the revised Index of Industrial Production (2022–23).