India's industrial production grew 6.7% in September from a year earlier, the slowest pace in four months, as manufacturing cooled and mining output shrank for a third straight month, according to quick estimates released Oct. 28 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The reading is still faster than the 6.1% recorded in September 2025, and output has grown 6.8% in the first half of the fiscal year that began in April, against 4.4% a year earlier. For investors across Asia, the mix matters as much as the headline: Indian demand for electrical equipment, vehicles and power generation stayed strong, while the mining slump points to softer domestic supply of coal and minerals.

August growth was revised down to 7.8% from an initial estimate of 8%, the ministry's figures showed, according to DD News. The index stood at 124.3 in September, up from 116.5 a year earlier, on the new 2022-23 base year.

Manufacturing Cools, Power Stays Strong

Manufacturing, which makes up about 76% of the index, grew 7.6% in September, down from a revised 8.6% in August, Business Standard reported. The sector had grown more than 8% a month from June through August, according to ThePrint.

The slowdown was not broad. Seventeen of 23 manufacturing groups expanded from a year earlier. Electrical equipment output jumped 33.9%, rubber and plastics products rose 19.9% and motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers climbed 19%, according to the ministry data reported by DD News. Beverages rose 39.4%.

The weak spots were concentrated. Pharmaceuticals fell 8.9%, wood products dropped 10.5% and wearing apparel declined 5.2%. Chemicals slipped 0.6%, ThePrint reported.

Electricity and gas supply was the fastest-growing sector at 11.2%, slightly below a revised 12.3% in August. Inside that figure, non-renewable generation rose 16.5% while renewable generation growth slowed to 4.3% from 15.4% a month earlier, Business Standard said. Gas supply fell 6.7%.

Water supply, sewerage and waste management grew 5.8%, down from 6.3%.

India's Mining Slump Deepens

Mining and quarrying output fell 6.2% from a year earlier, after a 4.6% drop in August. It was the third consecutive monthly decline and the sharpest since September 2023, when the sector shrank 17%, according to Business Standard. Mining has contracted 2.4% in the April to September period, the only one of the four main sectors to shrink over the half year.

The September figure for industrial output contrasts with the government's separate index of eight core industries, which grew 7.9% in the same month. Capital Times reported earlier that the core sector posted its fastest pace in the new series. The core index is narrower and tracks heavy sectors such as coal, steel, cement and electricity.

Investment Goods Lose Some Pace

Five of the six use-based categories slowed in September, according to Business Standard. Capital goods output, a gauge of investment in machinery and equipment, rose 10.4%, down from 15.9% in August and the slowest pace of the fiscal year so far.

Intermediate goods led the use-based groups with growth of 12.2%, followed by infrastructure and construction goods at 7.2%, according to the figures reported by DD News. Primary goods rose 4%.

On the consumer side, durables such as appliances and electronics grew 6%, down from 10.5% in August and the weakest since April. Consumer non-durables rose 1.4% after two months of contraction, the only use-based category that did not slow.

That split suggests household spending on everyday goods is recovering slowly, while purchases of big-ticket items cooled after a strong summer. The ministry's estimates are based on a weighted response rate of 86.5% from reporting factories, DD News said, and are typically revised in later months, as August's figure was.

India's fiscal year output figures still run well ahead of last year. Industrial production rose 6.8% in April to September, with manufacturing up 7.5% and electricity and gas supply up 9.7%, against the 4.4% overall growth recorded in the first half of the previous fiscal year.