India's Infrastructure Growth Hits Two-Month Low in January

India's infrastructure sector growth decreased to 4% in January, down from 5.1% in January 2025. Negative growth was reported in crude oil and natural gas output. Overall, the core sector's fiscal growth also slowed to 2.8%, affecting the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) expectations for January.

In January, India's infrastructure sector growth decelerated to a two-month low of 4%, as reported in recently released official data. This marks a decline from a growth rate of 5.1% seen in January 2025 and 4.7% in December 2025.

Crude oil and natural gas outputs experienced negative growth, while refinery product production remained flat. Growth in coal and cement production decreased to 3.1% and 10.7%, respectively, compared to 4.6% and 14.3% in January 2025.

Despite the overall slowdown, positive growth was observed in fertiliser, steel, and electricity production. Chief Economist of ICRA Ltd, Aditi Nayar, noted a broad-based slowdown, with seven out of eight sectors experiencing reduced YoY growth, affecting the Index of Industrial Production expectations.

(With inputs from agencies.)