Daily
250 words
7/10
Worth

22 July 2026

Release of updated Index of Core Industries (ICI) series

The base year update and methodological changes in the Index of Core Industries are significant for economic data measurement and tracking industrial growth under GS3.

Notes

  • Base Year Revision: The Union Government updated the base year of the Index of Core Industries (ICI) from 2011-12 to 2022-23 to align it with national accounts (GDP/GVA), inflation, and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
  • Expansion of Sectors: The number of core sectors covered under the ICI increased from eight to nine with the addition of iron ore, added due to its intensive use in industrial production.
  • Methodological Changes in Steel and Coal: Steel production is now calculated on a gross output basis instead of net output to align with the IIP. Coal sector measurement is restricted to raw coal, excluding middling and washed coal to eliminate double counting.
  • Weight Redistribution: Sectoral weights were revised to reflect their weights in the IIP. Newly included iron ore was assigned a weight of 4.905%.
  • Specific Weight Changes: Electricity weight increased from 19.85% to 30.932%; Refinery products decreased from 28.04% to 22.572%; Coal decreased from 10.33% to 5.596%; Natural gas decreased from 6.88% to 3.841%; Fertilizers increased from 2.63% to 2.731%.
  • Impact on Industrial Growth Metrics: Revisions cause short-term variance in monthly growth figures (e.g., May 2026 growth revised from 0.5% to 3.2%), but annual figures remain consistent (2025-26 full-year growth revised marginally from 1.1% to 1%).

Questions

  1. Discuss the rationale behind updating the base year and methodology of macroeconomic indicators such as the Index of Core Industries (ICI). How do such updates enhance data reliability for economic planning? 150 words

Prelims

  1. Which industry was newly added to the Index of Core Industries (ICI) in its updated base year 2022-23 series?
    1. Copper
    2. Iron ore
    3. Renewable energy
    4. Aluminium
    Answer B
  2. In the updated Index of Core Industries (ICI) series (base year 2022-23), which sector accounts for the highest weightage?
    1. Refinery products
    2. Coal
    3. Electricity
    4. Steel
    Answer C

Syllabus

Topics

Sources