Index of Industrial Production and Revision of Base Year

#Economy #Growth #Infrastructure #Current Events #National #GS-3

Why in News

India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth slowed down to 4.9% in April 2026 compared to 5.8% in April 2025.
The government introduced a new IIP series with 2022-23 as the fresh base year to replace the older 2011-12 series.
The manufacturing sector holds about a 76% weight in the IIP basket and grew by 6.2% in April 2026.
The mining and quarrying sector suffered a sharp drop of over 5% during the same period.
Capital goods grew strongly by 16%, and infrastructure goods grew by 7.1% in April 2026.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) publishes the IIP every month.
It acts as a key macroeconomic indicator that tracks short-term changes in the total volume of industrial goods produced over time.
The index value for the official base year is set at 100, and current production levels are compared against this benchmark.
The revised index now covers 1,042 products grouped into 463 item groups, which is higher than the previous 839 items and 407 groups.
Sector weights are now adjusted according to the updated Gross Value Added (GVA) 2022-23 series.

The new IIP series includes gas supply, water supply, sewerage, and waste management alongside mining, manufacturing, and electricity.
Electricity generation is now divided into renewable and non-renewable sources to track the country's green energy transition clearly.
Since GDP data comes out only once every quarter, IIP works as an important high-frequency monthly indicator.
Policymakers, the RBI, and market analysts use the IIP to measure economic momentum and plan future policies.