Overview

• India's eight core infrastructure industries recorded just 0.5% growth in April 2025, down from 4.6% in March, marking the weakest pace in eight months.
• Petroleum refinery products (-4.5%), fertilisers (-4.2%), and crude oil (-2.8%) saw significant contractions, dragging down overall performance.
• Positive growth was seen in five sectors, led by cement at 6.7%, followed by coal (3.5%), steel (3%), electricity (1%), and natural gas (0.4%).
• The slowdown has been attributed to a high base effect and lingering global trade uncertainty following US tariff actions in early April.
• ICRA projects industrial production (IIP) growth to sharply moderate to around 1% for April, reflecting the subdued core sector performance.