The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) launched a revised Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series with 2022-23 as the new base year, replacing the old 2011-12 series. Under this updated framework, India’s industrial output grew by 4.9% in April 2026 compared to April 2025. This first official release under the revised series reflects structural adjustments made to align the macroeconomic indicator with changing economic patterns and the latest Gross Value Added (GVA) calculations. The revision marks the 10th base-year shift since the tracking of all-India industrial production commenced.
Sectoral Reclassification and Weight Realignment
The revised IIP series shifts from the traditional three-sector classification to a broader four-sector structure. It integrates utility and waste management services to capture an accurate picture of modern economic value addition. The baseline weight allocations derived from the 2022-23 economic data have been distributed across these primary divisions.
Macro Sectoral Performance (April 2026)
| Industrial Sector | Share Weight (%) | April 2026 Growth Rate (%) |
| Manufacturing | 76.06% | 6.2% |
| Mining and Quarrying | — | (-)5.1% |
| Electricity and Gas Supply | — | 4.9% |
| Water Supply, Sewerage and Waste Management | — | 6.6% |
| Overall IIP | 100.00% | 4.9% |
Within the manufacturing sector, 17 out of 23 distinct industry groups recorded positive growth in April 2026. High-performing manufacturing components included electrical equipment, which expanded by 19.2%, machinery and equipment at 12.9%, and motor vehicles at 12.7%. Conversely, gas supply within the utility segment experienced an 11.2% contraction during the month, indicating a direct footprint of input supply chain disturbances in West Asia.
Enhanced Coverage and Basket Adjustments
The product basket underwent an expansion to accommodate modern technology-driven goods and infrastructure components while phasing out obsolete industrial commodities.
Modifications in the Item Basket
The total number of item groups expanded to 463, mapping a comprehensive matrix of 1,042 standalone products. This transition included the addition of 120 new item groups and the deletion of 64 outdated categories.
- Additions: High-tech and modern essential goods such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, cardiac stents, life-saving vaccines, aircraft and spacecraft components, magnetic stripe cards, and non-woven textiles.
- Deletions: Commodities that have lost economic relevance or suffered production drops, including traditional fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), kerosene, and inner tubes for rickshaws and bicycles.
Granularity in Extractive and Energy Sub-segments
The mining and quarrying classification incorporates rare earth elements and minor minerals. This sector is now broken down into distinct sub-indices for fuel minerals, metallic minerals, and non-metallic minerals. To map the transition toward sustainable power, the energy sector breaks down electricity generation into renewable and non-renewable sources. In April 2026, renewable power generation expanded by 18%, whereas non-renewable electricity grew by 2.8%.
Use-Based Classification Trends
The use-based framework tracks industrial performance across final consumption and investment channels. Data from the April 2026 release highlights a strong performance in investment-linked categories, contrasted by relatively flat consumer demand.
Growth Across Product Categories
- Capital Goods: Rose by 16%, acting as a proxy for physical factory capacity addition and long-term private sector capital expenditure.
- Intermediate Goods: Registered an expansion of 7.7%.
- Infrastructure and Construction Goods: Logged a growth rate of 7.1%.
- Consumer Durables: Experienced a growth of 4.3%.
- Consumer Non-Durables: Slowed down to a 2.8% growth rate.
Methodological Harmonization
The revision rectifies data gaps observed in the older system by incorporating newer corporate and survey registries. MoSPI updated its framework using the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2025 standard to structure and disseminate the industrial segments. To bridge the transition across statistical timelines, the government deployed a geometric mean approach as the official linking factor between the 2011-12 tracking mechanism and the 2022-23 baseline series. Furthermore, the rebasing exercise synchronized the IIP with the common 2022-23 base year applied across other vital macroeconomic indicators, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
IASPOINT Booster Facts for UPSC
- Historical Origins: The first official domestic attempt to compile an industrial production index happened with the 1937 base year, tracking 15 major industries.
- Frequency and Release: The IIP is released as a monthly high-frequency indicator with a time lag of exactly 28 days from the conclusion of the reference month.
- Compiling Authority: The index is finalized, managed, and published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) functioning under MoSPI.
- Core Industries Baseline: The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), which tracks coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity, is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It serves as a key input, contributing over 40% of the total weight within the overall IIP framework.
- Base Year Chronology: Since the inception of the unified monthly tracking series in 1950, the base year has been revised sequentially across multiple timelines: 1937, 1946, 1951, 1956, 1960, 1970, 1980-81, 1993-94, 2004-05, 2011-12, and the current 2022-23 alignment.