FIRST PRESS RELEASE OF INDEX OF CORE INDUSTRIES OF NEW SERIES WITH BASE YEAR 2022-23

Key Highlights:

• The Office of Economic Adviser (OEA), DPIIT, released a revised Index of Core Industries (ICI) with Base Year 2022-23, replacing the 2011-12 series.
• Iron Ore has been added as a new core industry, increasing the total number of core industries from eight to nine.
• The ICI for June 2026 (Provisional Estimate) grew by 5.0% year-on-year, an improvement from 3.2% in May 2026.
• Iron Ore, Electricity, and Cement were major growth drivers in June 2026, with Iron Ore growing by 43.9%.
• The cumulative growth rate of ICI for April-June 2026 was 3.6%.

Detailed Insights:

• The new ICI series aims to reflect the current structure of the Indian economy more accurately by updating the base year.
• The calculation of the Steel index now uses gross production data, aligning it with the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• To avoid double counting, only Raw Coal is included in the new series, excluding Coal Middling and Washed Coal.
• Weights for the ICI (2022-23) series are derived from the corresponding items of the IIP (2022-23) series.
• A Linking Factor of 1.47 has been calculated for the Overall ICI to facilitate comparison between the old and new series.
• Provisional ICI data will be released on the 20th of the following month, with the old series being discontinued.
• Natural Gas, Crude Oil, Refinery Products, and Fertilizers recorded negative growth in June 2026.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Index of Core Industries (ICI): A monthly production index of eight (now nine) core sectors of the Indian economy, considered foundational for industrial activity.
• Base Year: A reference year for an index, used to compare changes in economic variables over time.
• Index of Industrial Production (IIP): A composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products.
• Linking Factor: A numerical value used to convert index values from an old base year series to a new base year series, ensuring continuity.