Why in news?

• The output of eight core infrastructure sectors expanded 7.8% in November.
  • That is the slowest pace of growth recorded since May, when the eight sectors cumulatively grew 5.2%.
• The Index of Core Industries (ICI) was down 3.34% from October levels, and stood at 150.3, its lowest level since March 2023.

What’s in today’s article?

• Index of Core Industries (about, component and weightage, significance)
• Index of Industrial Production (about, components and weightage, significance)
• News Summary

Index of Core Industries (ICI)

• About
  • ICI is a production volume index which is released on monthly basis.
  • The index measures combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries.
  • The base year of the ICI has been revised to 2011-12 from 2004-05.
• Institutions involved
  • The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Ministry of Commerce & Industry is mandated with releasing the Index.
• Eight Core Industries of the Index
  • The eight core industries are: Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity.
  • Weight carried by individual industries are:
    • Coal (weight: 10.33%), Crude Oil (weight: 8.98%), Natural Gas (weight: 6.88%), Petroleum Refinery (weight: 28.04%),
    • Fertilizers (weight: 2.63%), Steel production (weight: 17.92%), Cement production (weight: 5.37%), Electricity generation (weight: 19.85%)

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• About
  • The IIP number measures the industrial production for the period under review, usually a month, as against the reference period.
  • There is a lag of six weeks in the publication of the IIP index data after the reference month ends.
  • It is currently calculated using 2011-2012 as the base year.
• Institution involved
  • National Statistical Organisation (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) releases the IIP data.
• IIP Index Components
  • IIP is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under:
    • Broad sectors, namely, Mining (14.4%), Manufacturing (77.6%) and Electricity (8%)
    • Use-based sectors, namely Basic Goods, Capital Goods and Intermediate Goods etc.
  • These Eight Core Industries mentioned in above section comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the IIP.

News Summary: Core sectors’ growth skids to 6-month low in November

• The output of eight key infrastructure industries slowed to a six-month low of 7.8 per cent in November on the back of a high base and festival holidays.
• According to data released by the Ministry, growth in the output of refinery products (12.4 per cent) accelerated in September vis-à-vis the preceding month, while output of crude oil (-0.4 per cent) and cement (-3.6 per cent) contracted.
• Output growth in all other sectors, including coal (10.9 per cent), natural gas (7.6 per cent), fertilisers (3.4 per cent) steel (9.1 per cent), and electricity (5.6 per cent) decelerated.
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