Core Sector Growth In August 2025: India’s core infrastructure sectors’ growth in August 2025 jumped to a 13-month high of 6.3 per cent, according to the official data released on Monday. The growth was achieved on the back of expansion in coal, steel, and cement production during the month.
The growth had stood at 3.7 per cent in July 2025, and a (-) 1.5 per cent in August last year. Earlier, a similar pace of growth was recorded in July 2024 at 6.3 per cent.
Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity are the eight main industries that make up the core sector. They are regarded as a leading indicator of industrial performance and together make up about 40% of the Index of Industrial Production
(IIP).
In August 2025, coal production increased by 11.4 per cent year-on-year, steel output surged 14.2 per cent, and cement production rose 6.1 per cent.
During April-August 2025, the eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 2.8 per cent, compared to a rise of 4.6 per cent in the same period last year.
Aditi Nayar, chief economist of ICRA, said, “Aided by a low base, the year-on-year (YoY) growth in core output expectedly improved to a 13-month high of 6.3% in August 2025 from 3.7% in July 2025. The uptick was particularly driven by coal, which witnessed an expansion of 11.4% in the month, following a double-digit contraction in July 2025. Overall, five of the eight sectors, barring steel, cement, and electricity saw an improvement in their YoY growth performance in August 2025 vis-à-vis July 2025.”
The IIP growth is expected to print at 4.5-5.5% in August 2025, particularly aided by a turnaround in the performance of mining output, which has seen a contraction in every month during April-July 2025, she added.
