New Delhi: The mining and power sectors have been weighing on India’s industrial output, an analysis by ThePrint of industrial growth data of the period between January 2024 and June 2025 shows. Mining, for instance, saw sharp contractions during this period, from 10.3 percent growth in June 2024 to -8.7 percent growth in June this year.
Sectoral data shows the mining sector saw negative growth four times since January 2024—August (2024), April (2025), May (2025) and June (2025).
A similar story played out for the power sector which saw sporadic contractions during this period, the most significant in May 2025 (-4.7 percent), suggesting overcapacity, misaligned demand, or temporary disruptions such as fuel shortages.
These were among the factors that weighed heavily on India’s industrial output growth as it saw a 10-month low in June 2025, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. It also pointed out that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by a mere 1.5 percent in the month of June 2025, as against 1.9 percent the previous month—marking a decline for the third consecutive month.
The IIP broadly tracks three key sectors: mining, manufacturing, and electricity.
The monthly report, compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), pegged the deceleration principally on poor performance in the mining and power sectors, both affected by the early onset of monsoon. In June 2025, mining output fell by a steep 8.7 percent, while electricity output fell by 2.6 percent compared to the previous month.
January 2024 to January 2025
Since January 2024, India’s industrial output has been on a tumultuous terrain.
It peaked in May 2024 when the industrial growth rate touched 6.3 percent before falling steeply to 4.9 percent the very next month. The fall in output was a result of contraction in manufacturing and power sectors.
Compared to the previous month, manufacturing growth declined from 5.1 percent to 3.5 percent in June 2024, while growth in the power sector declined from 13.7 percent to 8.6 percent during the same period.
Growth in the mining sector, on the other hand, went up from 6.6 percent in May 2024 to 10.3 percent in June of the same year.
In August 2024, India noted a contraction of 0.1 percent in industrial output growth, marking the first such year-on-year contraction after October 2022. This was a result of negative growth in the power (-3.7 percent) and mining (-4.3 percent) sectors, and a slowdown in manufacturing to 1.2 percent from 4.7 percent the previous month.
Industrial growth, however, picked up in November 2024, with IIP again touching the 5 percent threshold. After a minor hiccup in December 2024, industrial growth touched 5.2 percent in January 2025. While there isn’t any universally agreed-upon “ideal” IIP benchmark, a 3-5 percent annual growth rate is seen as healthy and sustainable.
Return to path of decline
Following the recovery in January, industrial growth once again embarked on a path of decline from February 2025 (2.7 percent), ultimately reaching a 10-month low in June 2025. It was 3.9 percent in March, 2.6 percent in April and 1.9 percent in May.
Though the mining sector grew rapidly in the first half of 2024, registering 8.1 percent growth in February 2024 and 10.3 percent growth in June 2024, by August 2024, it had declined to 4.3 percent.
This trajectory continued till June this year when the mining sector contracted by 8.7 percent. These fluctuations in the industry were caused by issues like domestic weather disruptions or mining-specific regulations, as well as external commodity pricing difficulties.
Manufacturing has recovered more steadily than mining, despite its slow-paced growth. The sector hit a peak of 5.8 percent in January 2025 after plunging to a low of 3.6 percent in January 2024.
Following a brief decline to 2.8 percent in February 2025, manufacturing growth was 4 percent in March 2025.
But, this was short-lived. After falling to 3.1 percent in April 2025, it rose slowly until June 2025, when it averaged roughly 3.9 percent.
This indicates the sector’s capacity for adaptation and recovery and is possibly the result of supply chain support, government stimulus, and the post-pandemic normalisation of demand. However, the recovery’s sluggish pace underlines persistent demand from weak export markets and widespread supply chain concerns.
With notable double-digit growth in May 2024 (13.7 percent), the electricity sector dominated the growth charts for the majority of the time. These spikes frequently corresponded with the push for infrastructure and seasonal demand.
The IIP data from January 2024 to June 2025 depicts the volatile state of the country’s industrial sector, with major sectors seeing fast growth, abrupt decrease, and resilience.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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