infrastructure-sectors-growth-drops-to-three-month-low-of-3-pc

Growth in India’s eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a three-month low of 3 per cent in September as output in fuel-based sectors and fertilisers declined, official data showed.

The data in the Index of Eight Core Industries, released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, showed the growth to have slowed in September, 2025, as compared with August, 2025, when it recorded 6.5 per cent expansion. While September’s growth was the slowest since June this year, the index’s performance was faster in the ninth month than in September, 2024, when the core sectors’ output growth was 2.4 per cent.

The September slowdown this year in the eight core sectors is being attributed to a fall in the output of coal, crude oil, refinery products and natural gas.

The coal sector contracted 1.19 per cent in September, 2025, as compared to a growth of 2.6 per cent in September last year, and a 11.4 per cent growth in August, 2025. The crude oil sector contracted 1.25 per cent in September this year, over a contraction of 3.9 per cent in September last year. 

 

Also Read: Centre mulls ₹20k crore risk guarantee fund to push infra growth

Significantly, the crude oil sector had grown 2.4 per cent in August, 2025, which was the first month of growth in eight months. 

The natural gas sector, meanwhile, witnessed the largest contraction of all, of 3.8 per cent in September, 2025. The sector has consistently contracted for 15 consecutive months, data showed.

The growth rate in the production of fertiliser and cement slowed to 1.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent during the month under review, against 1.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in September 2024.

However, steel and electricity output increased 14.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, on a year-on-year basis in September.

During April-September of this fiscal year, the eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 2.9 per cent compared to a rise of 4.3 per cent in the same period of the last year.

The growth rate has implications for the country’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as these core industries account for 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the index.