The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has revised the base year index of Eight Core Industries having a combined weight of about 40.27 percent in the Index of Industrial Production. Which one of the following is not one of the Eight Core Industries?
- (a)Coal
- (b)Refinery products
- (c)Rubber products
- (d)Cement
Correct — C, Rubber products. The eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. Every one of them is a basic input that other industries consume, which is the organising idea behind the index; rubber products are a manufactured good, made from natural and synthetic rubber, and they have never been on the list. The other three options are all on it. The figure in the stem belongs to the series in force at the time of this exam: the Office of the Economic Adviser under DPIIT had moved the Index of Eight Core Industries to base year 2011-12, and the eight together carried a weight of 40.27 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production.
- (a)Coal — One of the eight, and the one usually listed first. Coal is the raw input for the largest single component of the index, electricity.
- (b)Refinery products — One of the eight, and by far the heaviest of the petroleum group. Crude oil, natural gas and refinery products are three separate entries in the list.
- (d)Cement — One of the eight. Cement is the standard proxy for construction activity, which is why it is tracked alongside steel.
The Index of Industrial Production measures the volume of industrial output month by month. Inside it, the Office of the Economic Adviser publishes a smaller index covering the industries that supply the economy's basic inputs, which is watched because it appears earlier than the full IIP and moves ahead of it. Membership of the list is decided by that logic: an item belongs if the rest of industry buys it, not because it is large or well known.
Approach the option list by asking who buys the product. Coal, refinery products and cement are bought by power stations, transporters and builders — they are inputs to other production. Rubber products are tyres, tubes, belting and footwear, sold mostly to final users, and they sit in the ordinary manufacturing part of the IIP instead. It is also worth holding the internal order, because it is asked directly: electricity carries the largest weight in the index, followed by refinery products and steel. This is one of the CDS questions where the position has since moved. On 20 July 2026 the Office of the Economic Adviser released the index on a new base year of 2022-23 and added iron ore to it, writing that 'owing to intensive use of Iron ore in the production process, and its contribution to industrial development, it has been included in the list of core industries as a new item ... Accordingly, the number of core industries have increased from eight to nine in the new series.' A question asked today would be about nine core industries, not eight.
- The eight core industries at the time of this exam were coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.
- Their combined weight in the Index of Industrial Production was 40.27 per cent under the 2011-12 base year.
- The index is compiled and released monthly by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- From July 2026 the index moved to base year 2022-23 and iron ore was added, taking the count from eight to nine.
- In the new series the largest weights are electricity 30.93, refinery products 22.57 and steel 17.58, with iron ore at 4.91.
- Adding a well-known industry such as textiles, automobiles or rubber to the list because it is big; the test is whether it is a basic input.
- Confusing the compiler — the core index comes from DPIIT's Office of the Economic Adviser, while the IIP itself comes from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
- Quoting the count as eight without checking the year; since July 2026 it is nine.
As a which-one-is-not question on the membership of the list, as a highest-weight question, or as a statements item pairing the index with its compiling agency and base year.
In India, in the overall Index of Industrial Production, the Indices of Eight Core Industries have a combined weight of 37·90%. Which of the following are among those Eight Core Industries? 1. Cement 2. Fertilizers 3. Natural gas 4. Refinery products 5. Textiles Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
- (a) 1 and 5 only
- (b) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (c) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Answer(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
The same question with textiles as the intruder instead of rubber products, and it shows how the weight figure moves with the base year — 37.90 per cent on the older base against 40.27 per cent on the 2011-12 base quoted by CDS.
In the ‘Index of Eight Core Industries’, which one of the following is given the highest weight?
- (a) Coal production
- (b) Electricity generation
- (c) Fertilizer production
- (d) Steel production
Answer(b) Electricity generation
The other half of the same topic. Knowing the membership answers the CDS item; knowing the internal ranking answers this one, and electricity has stayed at the top through every rebasing.
CDS_GK_2020_II_Q332020As per the use-based classification of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the maximum weight has been assigned to
- (a) primary goods
- (b) intermediate goods
- (c) consumer durables
- (d) consumer non-durables
Answer(a) primary goods
The same index approached from its other classification. Primary goods lead the use-based split for the same reason the core industries exist as a group — mining, electricity and the basic energy items dominate the early stages of production.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Index of Eight Core Industries, which one of the following carried the highest weight?
- (a)Coal
- (b)Steel
- (c)Electricity
- (d)Cement
Answer(c) Electricity — it is the largest single component of the core index, ahead of refinery products and steel.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Index of Core Industries is compiled and released by
- (a)the Reserve Bank of India
- (b)the National Statistical Office
- (c)the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
- (d)the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Answer(c) the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade — the wider Index of Industrial Production comes from the National Statistical Office.