Blitz India Business
Data Series : Old Core Index Series Discontinued
The 2011-12 series of the Index of Core Industries has been discontinued and replaced by the 2022-23 series. Any model, dashboard or research note still carrying 2011-12 levels will produce a wrong growth rate from a correct formula. The linking factor for the overall index is 1.47, and the published formula lets the same factor be derived sector by sector.
Weights : Three Sectors Carry 71 Points
Electricity at 30.932, refinery products at 22.572 and steel at 17.584 together account for 71.088 of the core index’s hundred points, on this desk’s computation from the published weights. The four sectors that contracted in June 2026 — natural gas, crude oil, refinery products and fertilizers — carry 36.574 between them, better than a third of the index.
Calendar : Core Index Now Lands On The 20th
The provisional core index for a reference month is released on the 20th of the following month, or the next working day. The Department stated at the launch of the new series that the July 2026 index would be released on Thursday, 20 August 2026. The back series from April 2023 is on the Office of the Economic Adviser’s portal for download.
Annual Data : Core Index Grew 3.0 Per Cent In 2025-26
On the new series the overall core index stood at 115.2 for 2025-26 against 111.8 for 2024-25, a rise of 3.0 per cent, following 4.3 per cent the year before. Steel and cement led the annual picture at 11.6 and 8.5 per cent; natural gas, crude oil and fertilizers were flat or negative. The figures are the Department’s, in Annexures III and IV of the July release.
Telecom : Utilisation, Not Coverage, Is The Issue
Only 17.91 per cent of BharatNet’s available bandwidth was in use as at November 2025, and 33.20 per cent of service-ready gram panchayats were operational, the CAG reports. Major telecom service providers withdrew over service quality, and dark fibre went unleased in many cases for want of a State-level policy or a decision. The commercial case sits downstream of the network, not in it.
Contracting : Private Model Showed Better Discipline
The CAG found the milestone-based payment model weakest under the central public sector undertaking-led model, which contributed to lower service delivery, while the private-led model demonstrated stronger financial discipline and better service delivery. Its first recommendation on finance is a performance-linked disbursement model on the private-led pattern, with payment tied to milestones and service availability.