Output of eight core infrastructure industries grew 3.7% in December, its second straight month of expansion after a marginal contraction in October, official data showed on Tuesday.
Output volume growth of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity had grown 5.1% in December 2024, and at an upwardly revised 2.1% in November 2025.
The commerce department said that these industries, having 40% weight in India’s index of industrial output (IIP), had expanded 2.6% in the April to December period this fiscal, against 4.5% in the year ago period.
Latest data showed that out of the eight industries, the output of coal, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity expanded in December from the year ago period, while output of crude oil, natural gas and refinery products contracted in the same period.
In December, coal output grew 3.6%, while fertilizer output expanded 4.1%, steel output grew 6.9%, cement output expanded 13.5% and electricity by 5.3%, data showed. Crude oil production contracted 5.6% in December, while natural gas output shrank 4.4% and refinery products by 1%.
Cement has shown steady growth since November 2024, indicating strong demand for infrastructure building. The central government has been scaling up its capital expenditure in the past few years in order to stimulate economic growth and to crowd in private investments.
As per the first advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the current financial year, construction sector output in real terms is expected grow 7% in the current financial year, though slightly at a moderated pace compared to 9.4% in FY25.
Crude oil
Output of crude oil and natural gas has been consistently moderating, indicating the maturing nature of India’s oil and fields. Oil imports account for about a quarter of India’s entire merchandise imports.
The government has been trying to scale up the share of clean energy and new-age fuels like green hydrogen and nuclear power in the overall energy basket.
Rating agency Icra said on Tuesday that it expects industrial output growth as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to decelerate to 4.5-5% in December 2025 from 6.7% in November, with the likely slowdown in the manufacturing segment outweighing a sharp turnaround in the performance of the electricity sector.
The 3.7% expansion of the core infrastructure sector in December, the fastest in four months, is impressive as both steel and cement output have grown due to higher infrastructure activity, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.
“The frontend spending by the government on roads and railways has added to the demand. Further, this growth is impressive as it comes over a higher base, too. This is also indicative of private sector involvement in infrastructure, which is borne out by the higher investment announcements witnessed so far this (fiscal) year. It may be expected that this momentum will be maintained in the coming months,” said Sabnavis, who expects a 4% IIP growth in December.
India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.4% in the current financial year, up from 6.5% in the year ago period, aided by strong growth in manufacturing, services, healthy household spending and strong investments in fixed assets. However, benign inflation scenario is expected to keep nominal GDP growth below expectations. The first advance estimate released this month projected an 8% nominal growth, the softest since the pandemic slump of 2021.
