<h1>Core Industries Index Rises 6.7% in January 2018; Cement and Refinery Products Lead Growth Surge.</h1> The Index of Eight Core Industries, which makes up 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production, reached 133.1 in January 2018, marking a 6.7% increase from January 2017. From April to January 2017-18, the cumulative growth was 4.3%. Coal production rose by 3.0%, while crude oil and natural gas production fell by 3.2% and 1.0%, respectively. Refinery products increased by 11.0%, steel by 3.7%, cement by 20.7%, and electricity generation by 8.2%. Fertilizer production decreased by 1.6%. These figures reflect provisional data for the period, with the next release scheduled for April 2018.