'Nine key infrastructure sectors' output growth rises 5.4% in July
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that nine key infrastructure sectors’ output growth rose to 5.4 per cent in July 2026 following an increase in output of coal, refinery products, cement, electricity and iron ore. The core sectors' growth was 3.2 per cent in July 2025 and 6 per cent in June 2026. During April-July 2026-27, the key sectors expanded by 4.3 per cent against 1.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year. From June 2026, the data has been released with a new base year, 2022-23, replacing the earlier base year of 2011-12. The government has also added iron ore to the index, increasing the number of core sectors to nine.
According to the data, Iron Ore production having 4.90% weight increased by 29.5 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025, and its cumulative index increased by 25.2 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Steel production having 17.58% weight increased by 2.9 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index rose by 4.5 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year.
Electricity generation having 30.93% weight increased by 9.0 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index increased by 9.3 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 4.41% weight increased by 13.1 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index increased by 9.9 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 22.57% weight increased by 2.7 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 2.5 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year.
Coal production having 5.59% weight increased by 7.6 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 3.1 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production having 7.43% weight declined by 5.3 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index declined by 4.3 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.73% weight declined by 8.0 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index declined by 5.2 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year. Natural Gas production having 3.84% weight declined by 3.7 per cent in July 2026 over July 2025 and its cumulative index declined by 4.4 per cent during April to July 2026-27 over corresponding period of the previous year.
