India’s eight key infrastructure sectors showed no growth in October 2025, as declines in coal and electricity production wiped out gains in petroleum, fertiliser, and steel, according to official data released on Thursday.
Coal production fell 8.5 per cent, electricity generation dropped 7.6 per cent, and natural gas output slipped 5 per cent.
Crude oil production was down 1.2 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Index of Eight Core Industries.
On the other side, petroleum refinery products grew 4.6 per cent, fertiliser 7.4 per cent, steel 6.7 per cent, and cement 5.3 per cent.
Despite these gains, the overall zero growth dragged cumulative April–October output to 2.5 per cent, down from 4.3 per cent in the same period last year. This is the first time in a year that the eight sectors have failed to expand.
These sectors carry significant weight, making up 40.27 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Commenting on the slowdown, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA, said, "Excess rainfall impacted mining activity and power demand in October, with the coal output and electricity generation contracting by a sharp 8.5 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in the month."
She added, "Moreover, the growth in steel output decelerated sharply to a six-month low from double-digit levels in the previous month, albeit partly due to an adverse base effect from the early onset of the festive season in 2025."
Nayar warned, "Given the deterioration in the performance of the mining and electricity segments, ICRA expects the IIP growth to ease somewhat to about 2.5-3.5 per cent in October 2025 from 4 per cent in September 2025, even as the growth in manufacturing is likely to remain healthy aided by higher demand during the festive season on account of the GST rate rationalisation and the ensuing restocking."