Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 28: India’s IIP grew 8% in August 2026, led by 9% manufacturing growth. Capital goods jumped 16.9%, while electricity and gas rose 12.3%. But mining and quarrying contracted 5.6%, tempering the overall picture.
Factories gather momentum
India’s industrial output gathered pace in August 2026. Growth in the Index of Industrial Production reached 8%, up from 6.7% in July. Both figures compare output with the same month a year earlier.
Manufacturing did much of the heavy lifting, expanding 9%. Electricity and gas supply grew even faster, at 12.3%. Mining and quarrying, however, contracted 5.6%. That mix makes August’s industrial production data stronger, but far from uniform.
Manufacturing growth broadens
The breadth of the manufacturing sector’s expansion stands out. Eighteen of 23 industry groups at the NIC two-digit level recorded positive growth. The remaining five did not, so the gains were wide but not universal.
Electrical equipment manufacturing posted the sharpest rise among the leading contributors, at 30.9%. Other transport equipment followed at 25.3%. Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers grew 25.2%.
These three were the top positive contributors within manufacturing. A high growth rate, though, is not the same as a contribution to IIP. They helped lift the index rather than driving it alone.
Capital goods lead the way
The use-based classification offers a clearer view of what factories produced. Capital goods output rose 16.9%, the fastest among the six categories. These include machinery and equipment used to make other goods.
The figure signals strong production of investment-linked goods during the month. It does not, by itself, confirm a broader revival in private investment.
Intermediate goods grew 13.7%. These are inputs that move along supply chains before becoming finished products. Intermediate goods, capital goods and consumer durables were the three leading contributors to IIP growth.
Consumer production splits
Consumer-facing categories told a divided story. Consumer durables output rose 11.1%. Consumer non-durables managed only 2.1%.
That gap points to uneven momentum across consumer goods production. Production figures, though, do not measure what households actually buy. The data alone cannot show whether consumer demand strengthened or weakened.
Mining remains the weak spot
Mining and quarrying was the only major sector to shrink. Its 5.6% contraction contrasts sharply with 12.3% growth in electricity and gas. The official data offers no explanation for the mining decline.
Water supply, sewerage and waste management grew a steadier 6.3%.
What August’s IIP data shows
Other categories grew more modestly. Infrastructure and construction goods rose 6.4%. Primary goods, the slowest after consumer non-durables, grew 3.5%.
Together, these figures show a headline number masking wide differences beneath it. Investment-linked and intermediate goods raced ahead. Primary and everyday consumer goods moved far more slowly.
Stronger, but not uniform
India’s industrial growth quickened from 6.7% in July to 8% in August. Broad manufacturing gains and strong capital goods production underpin that improvement.
Yet shrinking mining output and sluggish consumer non-durables temper the picture. August’s factory output was stronger overall. It was not, however, evenly shared across the Indian economy.
