About ICI 

• The monthly Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) is a production volume index.
• The objective of the ICI is to provide an advance indication on production performance of industries of ‘core’ nature. These industries are likely to impact on general economic activities as well as industrial activities. 
• The Eight Core Industries- Electricity, steel, refinery products, crude oil, coal, cement, natural gas and fertilizers- comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 
• Industry Weight (In percentage)
  • Petroleum & Refinery production – 28.04 
  • Electricity generation – 19.85 
  • Steel production – 17.92 
  • Coal production – 10.33 
  • Crude Oil production – 8.98 
  • Natural Gas production – 6.88 
  • Cement production – 5.37 
  • Fertilizers production – 2.63

• ICI is released by the Office of Economic Advisor, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. The base year of the ICI is 2011-12.

Why in News?

• According to the latest official data, the output of eight core sectors increased by 56.1% in April due to an uptick in production of natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity.

• The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 37.9% in April 2020 due to the national COVID-19 lockdown.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/april-core-sector-output-jumps-561-base-buoys/article34692356.ece