Core Industries

Core Sectors of the Indian Economy

The eight-core sectors of the Indian economy are:

1. Electricity
2. Steel
3. Refinery products
4. Crude oil
5. Coal
6. Cement
7. Natural gas
8. Fertilizers

Also Read the coal Industry Article

These industries have a major impact on general economic activities and also industrial activities. They significantly impact most other industries as well. The core sector represents the capital base of the economy.

These eight industries have a combined share of above 40% in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The IIP gives the growth rates of different industry groups of the economy over a specified period.

Core Industries Headquarters

• Coal- Office of the Coal Controller, Kolkata.
• Crude Petroleum- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Refinery Products- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Natural Gas- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Cement- Cement Section, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.
• Steel- Joint Plant Committee, Kolkata.
• Fertilizers- Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• Electricity- Central Electricity Authority.

Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI)

The ICI is a production volume index prepared and released by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI.

• It is released 12 days before the Index of Industrial Production(IIP) is released.
• The objective of the Index of Eight Core Industries is to give an advance indication of the production performance of the industries which are of a ‘core’ nature before the release of the IIP.
• The ICI measures the individual and collective performances of production in these eight core industries.
• The ICI is used by policymakers including the Ministry of Finance, other Ministries, and Departments.
• It is also used by banks for financing infrastructure projects and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• To calculate the ICI, the components covered under the eight core sectors are mentioned in the table below:
  • Coal – Coal Production excluding Coking coal.
  • Electricity – Actual Electricity Generation of Thermal, Nuclear, and Hydro, imports from Bhutan.
  • Crude Oil – Total Crude Oil Production.
  • Cement – Production of Large Plants and Mini Plants.
  • Natural Gas – Total Natural Gas Production.
  • Steel – Production of Alloy and Non-Alloy Steel only.
  • Refinery Products – Total Refinery Production (in terms of Crude Throughput).
  • Fertilizer – Urea, Ammonium Sulphate (A/S), Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN), Ammonium chloride (A/C), Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Complex Grade Fertilizer and Single superphosphate (SSP).
• The ICI is released every month. The index is calculated by using the Laspeyres formula of the weighted arithmetic mean of quantity relatives.