India's industrial output in April slows on year to 4.9% under new series

India's industrial output for April came in at 4.9% under a new series after the government revised the base year for the 10th time, expanding the index's coverage with 120 new item groups and providing more granular data through separate indices for multiple sectors.

Industrial output growth was expected to come in at 3.9%, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Industrial output in April 2025 was 5.7%, according to data from the National Statistics Office.


The factory output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had slowed to a five-month low of 4.1% in March under the old series while the growth rate for February was revised lower to 5.1% back then. However, the numbers have been revised to 3.2% for March and 5.3% for February.

"As per the new IIP series (base year: 2022-23) released by the MOSPI, the IIP growth improved to 4.9% in April 2026 from 3.2% in March 2026, led by three of the four sub-segments barring mining and quarrying, belying the fear of an immediate negative impact of the West Asia crisis," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA Ltd.

Now, the base year for the IIP has been revised to 2022-23 from 2011-12. The updated series expands the basket of products tracked by the index to include items such as magnetic stripe cards, including debit and credit cards, CCTV cameras, non-woven textile products, aircraft and spacecraft parts, stents and vaccines.

The revised series also broadens the scope of industrial activity captured by the index through the inclusion of emerging and previously underrepresented segments, including rare earth minerals, gas supply, water management and waste treatment.

Also Read: Rare earth, gas supply, aircraft parts: What’s inside the new IIP calculus as India revises base year

Manufacturing grows, mining contracts

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is one of India's key economic indicators, measuring changes in output across the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors. It is closely tracked by policymakers, businesses and investors as an early gauge of industrial activity and the overall health of the economy.

Under the new series, manufacturing, which remains the largest component of the index, grew 6.2% during April, while electricity and gas supply expanded 4.9% in April.

Manufacturing, which makes up about 13% of India's economy, has been among the sectors most affected by the Middle East conflict.

Also Read: India meets FY26 fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP

April marked the second full reading since the Iran war erupted at the end of February, triggering energy supply disruptions in India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of crude oil.

"Manufacturing output, in particular, witnessed a sharp acceleration in growth to a four-month high of 6.2% in the month from 3.9% in the previous month, amidst a double-digit growth in seven of the 23 sub-segments. However, some sub-segments recorded a contraction in the month of April 2026 and the underlying performance was very varied," ICRA's Nayar said.

Mining & Quarrying output in April contracted 5.1%. Water Supply, Sewerage & Waste Management in April stood at 6.6%.

Primary goods output expanded 0.8% on year, while capital goods, a proxy for factory output, jumped 16%.

Production of infrastructure or construction goods, consumer durables and non-consumer durables rose 7.1%, 4.3% and 2.8% on an annual basis in April.

"Industrial production could remain subdued in the months ahead due to weaker global demand and supply chain disruptions. The larger risk, though, is rising costs. The energy supply shock caused by the conflict in West Asia has morphed into a price shock, with the costs of fuel, transport and other imported inputs increasing," said Dipti Deshpande, Principal Economist, Crisil.

What's new in IIP new series

The base-year revision was carried out by a technical advisory committee set up to review the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The committee submitted its report on May 25, 2026, paving the way for a broader and more up-to-date measure of industrial activity in India.

The new IIP series for 2022-23 continues to track output in the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors, but also adds gas supply and water supply, sewerage and waste management activities. This expands the coverage of the index and provides a more complete picture of industrial activity in the country.

The mining component has also been widened to include minor minerals and rare earth minerals in addition to major minerals, making the index more representative of the sector.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has also revamped the IIP product basket to better reflect current industrial production trends, replacing outdated products with newer commodities and aligning the series with the National Industrial Classification (NIC)-2025 framework.

The revised basket comprises 1,042 products across 463 item groups, including 120 newly added groups. At the same time, 64 item groups have been removed, including kerosene, fluorescent tubes, CFLs, and tubes for bicycle, tricycle and rickshaw tyres.

The new series provides a more detailed picture of industrial activity by introducing separate indices for renewable and non-renewable power generation, helping policymakers track changes in India's energy mix more effectively. The mining and quarrying sector has also been broken down into separate indices for fuel minerals, metallic minerals and non-metallic minerals.

The revised methodology will also allow authorities to replace factories that have permanently shut down with comparable operating units and add newly commissioned large factories to the sample base. This is expected to make the data more representative of current industrial activity and improve the accuracy of the index over time.

The May 2026 IIP data will be released on June 29, 2026.