India’s core industrial activity contracted in March 2026, with the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) falling 0.4 per cent year-on-year compared to March 2025, marking the weakest performance in nearly two years and a sharp reversal from 2.8 per cent growth in February, according to government data released on Monday. The decline was driven mainly by weak performance in fertilisers, crude oil, coal and electricity, all of which recorded negative growth during the month.