India’s core sector growth rises further to 3.1% in October

Core sector growth in October

India’s core sector growth rose further to 3.1 percent in October as compared to a revised 2.4 percent in September, as four of the eight sectors recorded a faster pace of growth, according to data released on November 29.

"The performance of the constituent industries was mixed, with four reporting an improvement in their growth between these months, and an equal number witnessing a slowdown," said Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA.

October marks the second consecutive month of rise in core sector growth and the first month recording a sequential growth since May 2024.

The eight core industries, which also represent India’s infrastructure output, had contracted 1.6 percent in August.

The index of eight core industries forms the basis of index of industrial production as it contributes 40 percent to India’s industrial index.

India's economy slowed drastically to 5.4 percent in the second quarter of the year, as industrial and mining activity slowed in July-September period. Mining contracted for the first time in two years, while manufacturing took a hit with growth stumbling to 2.2 percent in Q2FY25 from 7 percent from in the previous quarter.

India’s economy is likely to show signs of recovery from the third quarter onwards. RBI expects growth to average 7.4 percent for the last two quarters of the year.