Industrial output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, grew 4.9% in April 2026, slower than 5.8% in the same period last year, according to the new IIP series.

The IIP series, which till now had 2011-12 as its base year, has now been updated to 2022-23. In the new series, the coverage has been broadened by incorporating gas supply and water supply, sewerage & waste management activities to the existing core categories of mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and electricity. Of the four sectoral indices, three grew at a slower pace and one shrunk in the reporting month on a year-on-year basis, with mining and quarrying output declining by over 5% in April 2026. Manufacturing sector output grew at 6.2% in the reporting month, slightly slower than the 6.3% in 2025.

Within the manufacturing sector, which constitutes about 75% of the IIP basket of goods, six industries contracted including major ones like manufacture of "coke and refined petroleum products", which shrank 0.4%, and "wearing apparel" industry in which the output declined 7%. Manufacturing of wood products other than furniture shrank the most, with output dipping 12.5%.

The rest of the industry categories within the manufacturing sector grew, with electrical equipment industry output increasing 19.2% in April 2026.

Under use-based classification, the series classifies the industries into primary, capital goods, intermediate goods, infrastructure/construction goods, consumer durables and consumer non-durables. Growth in three of the six categories slowed in April 2026 on a year-on-year basis. Primary goods, consumer durables, and consumer non-durables grew 0.8%, 4.3% and 2.8% respectively in April 2026, slower than the same month in 2025. Intermediate goods output grew faster by 0.19% clocking a growth rate of 7.7% in April 2026, as against the same month in the previous fiscal.