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22 July 2026

Updated Index of Core Industries (ICI)

The Index of Core Industries is a key economic indicator frequently cited in UPSC exams, and this update represents a significant methodological change to a major national economic metric.

2 min read Day 8 of 15 2 questions 2 prelims

Notes

  • The Union Government has updated the Index of Core Industries (ICI) series, shifting the base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23.
  • The number of core sectors has increased from eight to nine with the inclusion of the iron ore sector.
  • Iron ore has been assigned a weight of 4.905% in the new index.
  • Methodological changes include calculating steel production on a gross output basis to align with the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
  • Coal sector measurement now excludes middling and washed coal to prevent double counting, focusing solely on raw coal.
  • Significant weight revisions: Electricity increased to 30.932% (from 19.85%), while Coal decreased to 5.596% (from 10.33%) and Natural Gas to 3.841% (from 6.88%).
  • Refinery products weight reduced from 28.04% to 22.572%.
  • The update aims to align the ICI with other economic metrics like GDP, GVA, inflation, and IIP.
  • The revision does not fundamentally alter the long-term industrial growth picture, despite variations in short-term monthly data.

Part of a longer story

This is day 8 of 15 in Upgrades to India's statistical databases, which has been running since 21 June 2026. Reading it whole is usually worth more than reading today alone — the exam asks how something developed.

Questions

  1. Discuss the rationale behind updating the base year and methodology of the Index of Core Industries (ICI). How does this alignment with the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) enhance the reliability of industrial growth data? 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
    0 / 150 words 8:00
  2. The periodic revision of economic indicators is essential for capturing the structural shifts in the Indian economy. In the context of the updated Index of Core Industries (ICI), analyze the significance of sectoral re-weighting and the inclusion of new industries in providing a more accurate reflection of current industrial performance. 250 words
    Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min
    0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

  1. Which of the following sectors was newly added to the Index of Core Industries (ICI) in the updated series?

  2. What is the primary reason for excluding middling and washed coal from the updated ICI series?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-07-22/updated-index-of-core-industries-ici