Index of Eight Core Industries

The Index of Eight Core Industries tracks changes in the production of eight major infrastructure-related industries in India. It is a monthly production index compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Constituent industries

The index covers coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products, along with fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. These eight industries are assigned different weights according to their relative importance in the index.

Weights and compilation

The index uses 2011-12 as its base year. Refinery products have the largest weight at 28.04 per cent, followed by electricity and steel.

• The Office of the Economic Adviser in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade compiles and releases the index monthly.
• It measures both the combined production performance of the eight industries and the performance of each constituent industry.

Economic significance

The eight core industries together account for 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production. Therefore, their output movements provide an important indication of industrial and infrastructure activity.