Core concerns: On the Indian economy, the road ahead

The Indian economy looks (प्रतीत होना, लगना) set for tough times ahead

The slowdown (मंदी, धीमापन) in the growth of India’s core (मुख्य, केंद्रीय) industrial sectors in July was not surprising (expected or predictable; expected, anticipated, foreseeable, unsurprising), with other indicators (संकेतक, सूचक) predicting (पूर्वानुमान लगाना, भविष्यवाणी करना) easing (decreasing, lessening, moderating, relaxing) demand conditions as well (in addition or also; also, too, additionally, furthermore). Growth in the index (an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; indicator, measure, gauge, benchmark) of core industries (ICI) slowed (धीमा होना, गति कम होना) to 5.4% in July from 6% in the previous month. This was in keeping with (के अनुरूप होना) the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (क्रय प्रबंधक सूचकांक), which in July eased (कम होना, नरम पड़ना) to its lowest level since August 2021 due to (के कारण, की वजह से) weak domestic demand (घरेलू मांग, आंतरिक मांग) conditions. While July’s growth in the ICI was the second-highest growth rate in the last seven months, the data nevertheless (in spite of that; nonetheless, even so, however, yet) highlight (draw special attention to a particular issue or fact; emphasize, stress, underline, accentuate) some concerning (चिंता, सरोकार) aspects (feature, facet, characteristic) of the Indian economy. The first has to do with the fact that (used to refer to a particular truth or reality; the reality that, the truth that, the circumstance that, the case that) a large part of even this slower growth seems (give the impression of being something; appear, look, give the impression of, sound) to be based on (using something as a foundation or starting point; founded on, built on, established on, derived from) a statistical low base effect (the distortion in a monthly inflation or growth figure that results from an abnormally high or low figure in the same month of the previous year). The coal sector, for example, grew at an 11-month high of 7.6% in July, but this was based on a contraction (shrinkage, decline, reduction, slump) of 12.3% in July of last year. Similarly, the refinery (an industrial installation where a substance is purified; processing plant, processing facility, purifying plant, refining facility) products sector snapped (break or put an end to a continuing state or trend abruptly; break, end, interrupt, halt) a three-month streak (run, spell, period, stretch) of contraction to grow at 2.7%, but this too was based on a contraction in July 2025. The iron ore (rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted; iron mineral, unrefined iron, raw iron, ferrous ore) sector, however (nevertheless, nonetheless, yet, conversely), grew at a very robust (strong, vigorous, resilient, sturdy) 29.5%, albeit (even though or although; although, even though, notwithstanding, in spite of the fact that) slower than a blistering (soaring, exceptionally high, intense; extremely fast, rapid, breakneck, scorching) 44.5% in June. This seems heartening (encouraging, uplifting, promising, reassuring) regardless of (despite, notwithstanding, in spite of, irrespective of) the contractions of 16.4% and 7.1% in June and July of last year, respectively (individually, separately, correspondingly, sequentially). But the steel sector slowed drastically (significantly, substantially, considerably, severely) in July to 2.9% from 5.6% in June and 15.7% in July of last year.

The domestic crude oil (unrefined petroleum occurring naturally in the earth; unrefined oil, raw petroleum, fossil fuel, black gold) and natural gas (flammable gas occurring naturally underground and used as fuel; fossil fuel, hydrocarbon gas, methane gas) sectors have been lasting (enduring, persisting, continuous, permanent) drags (hindrance, impediment, obstacle, burden) on the economy. Both have contracted (shrink, decline, decrease, diminish) continuously for at least the last 14 months for which the new series of the ICI (the updated version of the Index of Core Industries with a revised base year. This revised series of the Index of Core Industries (ICI) was releases on July 20, 2026, shifting its base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23. Compiled by the Office of Economic Adviser (DPIIT), the updated framework adds iron ore as a ninth core sector and modernizes compilation methods) has data. India’s crude oil imports rose 13.3% in volume terms (measurement based on the physical quantity of goods rather than their monetary value; physical quantity, quantitative measure, amount basis, volume measure) in July, while Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) (natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state for ease of transport; liquid fossil fuel, super-cooled natural gas, condensed natural gas, liquid methane) imports grew a more marginal (minor and not important; slight, small, minimal, negligible) 1.5%, showing that the economy’s appetite (a strong desire or liking for something; desire, demand, hunger, craving) is being whetted (excite or stimulate someone’s desire or interest; stimulate, arouse, awaken, trigger) from abroad. This external dependence (reliance, dependency, need, subordination) is proving (turn out to be, emerge as, be found to be, show itself to be) very expensive (costing a lot of money; costly, high-priced, pricey, exorbitant). High oil prices have meant (have as a consequence or result; result in, entail, lead to, involve) that the crude oil import bill (the total financial cost a country incurs for importing goods and services; import cost, import expenditure, foreign purchase cost, overseas spending) jumped (rise suddenly and by a large amount; surge, skyrocket, soar, spike) 41% in July. The 100% tariffs (a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports; tax, duty, toll, levy) that the United States is preparing to levy (impose a tax, fee, or fine; impose, charge, exact, demand) on countries such as (for example or of a kind that; for example, like, namely, including) India that import Russian oil will once again burden (cause someone hardship or distress; weigh down, oppress, trouble, strain) Indian exporters. Moving to 20% ethanol-blending (the practice of mixing ethanol with petrol to reduce reliance on fossil fuels; biofuel mixing, ethanol mixing, green fuel integration, renewable fuel blending) has not yet impacted (have a strong effect on someone or something; affect, influence, alter, change) oil imports materially (significantly, substantially, considerably, meaningfully). Within the ICI, the only two bright spots (a pleasant or successful thing in an otherwise bad situation; positive aspect, silver lining, ray of hope, glimmer of hope) of the economy were the cement and electricity sectors. The electricity sector grew at a robust 9% in July, although this was slower than the two consecutive (successive, succeeding, sequential, uninterrupted) months of double-digit growth in May and June thanks to (due to or as a result of; owing to, because of, as a result of, by virtue of) the prevalent heatwave (a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather; hot spell, swelter, extreme heat, scorching weather) conditions in many parts of the country. The cement sector sped up to 13.1%, a welcome (pleasing, heartening, encouraging, gratifying) acceleration (quickening, speeding up, increase, escalation). Such positive trends (tendency, movement, drift, pattern) were few and far between (not happening or existing very often; rare, scarce, infrequent, uncommon). Overall, the Indian economy looks to be in for (be likely to experience something, especially something unpleasant; face, expect, anticipate, confront) a period of slack (sluggish, slow, inactive, depressed) demand, higher costs, and moderating (become less extreme, intense, or rigorous; slow down, ease, slacken, decrease) growth.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.core (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मुख्य, केंद्रीय
English Meaning - central or most important; primary, main, principal, key.

2.concern (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चिंता, सरोकार
English Meaning - a matter of interest or importance that causes anxiety; worry, anxiety, apprehension, unease.

3.the road ahead (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - आगे की राह, भविष्य की स्थिति
English Meaning - the future or what is likely to happen; the future, what lies ahead, upcoming events, prospects.

4.look (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतीत होना, लगना
English Meaning - give the impression of being; seem, appear, present as.

5.slowdown (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मंदी, धीमापन
English Meaning - economic decline, recession, slump/depression.

6.core industrial sectors (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रमुख औद्योगिक क्षेत्र, मुख्य औद्योगिक क्षेत्र
English Meaning - the primary segments of the Indian economy (crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, coal, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity) that form the backbone of industrial production and significantly influence overall economic growth. The previous eight sectors have become nine, with the vital inclusion of the iron ore sector.

7.indicator (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संकेतक, सूचक
English Meaning - sign, signal, index, measure.

8.predict (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्वानुमान लगाना, भविष्यवाणी करना
English Meaning - forecast, foretell, foresee, anticipate.

9.Index of Eight Core Industries (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आठ प्रमुख उद्योगों का सूचकांक
English Meaning - a monthly production volume index compiled and released by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, that measures the combined and individual performance of production in eight foundational industries in India.

10.slow (verb)

Hindi Meaning - धीमा होना, गति कम होना
English Meaning - decelerate, reduce speed, lose momentum, slacken.

11.in keeping with (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के अनुरूप होना
English Meaning - consistent with, in accordance with, in agreement with, in line with.

12.Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - क्रय प्रबंधक सूचकांक
English Meaning - Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI is an economic indicator, which is derived after monthly surveys of different companies. The index shows trends in both the manufacturing and services sector. The index helps in determining whether the market conditions, as seen by purchasing managers, is expanding, contracting or staying the same. It is used to provide information regarding the current and future business conditions.

13.ease (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कम होना, नरम पड़ना
English Meaning - become less serious or severe; decrease, lessen, drop, moderate.

14.due to (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के कारण, की वजह से
English Meaning - because of, caused by, owing to, as a result of.

15.domestic demand (noun)

Hindi Meaning - घरेलू मांग, आंतरिक मांग
English Meaning - the total amount of goods and services purchased by consumers within a country; internal demand, domestic consumption.

16.set (adjective)

English Meaning - ready or likely to do something; ready, prepared, primed, arranged.

17.not surprising (phrase)

English Meaning - expected or predictable; expected, anticipated, foreseeable, unsurprising.

18.easing (adjective)

English Meaning - decreasing, lessening, moderating, relaxing.

19.as well (phrase)

English Meaning - in addition or also; also, too, additionally, furthermore.

20.index (noun)

English Meaning - an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; indicator, measure, gauge, benchmark.

21.Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (Manufacturing PMI) (noun)

English Meaning - an economic indicator that measures business activity in the manufacturing sector based on monthly surveys of purchasing managers. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion, while a PMI below 50 indicates contraction; Manufacturing PMI.

22.nevertheless (adverb)

English Meaning - in spite of that; nonetheless, even so, however, yet.

23.highlight (verb)

English Meaning - draw special attention to a particular issue or fact; emphasize, stress, underline, accentuate.

24.concerning (adjective)

English Meaning - worrying, alarming, troubling, unsettling.

25.aspect (noun)

English Meaning - feature, facet, characteristic.

26.have to do with (phrase)

English Meaning - be connected with or related to something; relate to, connect with, concern, involve.

27.the fact that (phrase)

English Meaning - used to refer to a particular truth or reality; the reality that, the truth that, the circumstance that, the case that.

28.seem (verb)

English Meaning - give the impression of being something; appear, look, give the impression of, sound.

29.based on (phrase)

English Meaning - using something as a foundation or starting point; founded on, built on, established on, derived from.

30.base effect (noun)

English Meaning - the distortion in a monthly inflation or growth figure that results from an abnormally high or low figure in the same month of the previous year.

31.contraction (noun)

English Meaning - shrinkage, decline, reduction, slump.

32.refinery (noun)

English Meaning - an industrial installation where a substance is purified; processing plant, processing facility, purifying plant, refining facility.

33.snap (verb)

English Meaning - break or put an end to a continuing state or trend abruptly; break, end, interrupt, halt.

34.streak (noun)

English Meaning - run, spell, period, stretch.

35.iron ore (noun)

English Meaning - rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted; iron mineral, unrefined iron, raw iron, ferrous ore.

36.however (adverb)

English Meaning - nevertheless, nonetheless, yet, conversely.

37.robust (adjective)

English Meaning - strong, vigorous, resilient, sturdy.

38.albeit (conjunction)

English Meaning - even though or although; although, even though, notwithstanding, in spite of the fact that.

39.blistering (adjective)

English Meaning - soaring, exceptionally high, intense; extremely fast, rapid, breakneck, scorching.

40.heartening (adjective)

English Meaning - encouraging, uplifting, promising, reassuring.

41.regardless of (phrase)

English Meaning - despite, notwithstanding, in spite of, irrespective of.

42.respectively (adverb)

English Meaning - individually, separately, correspondingly, sequentially.

43.drastically (adverb)

English Meaning - significantly, substantially, considerably, severely.

44.crude oil (noun)

English Meaning - unrefined petroleum occurring naturally in the earth; unrefined oil, raw petroleum, fossil fuel, black gold.

45.natural gas (noun)

English Meaning - flammable gas occurring naturally underground and used as fuel; fossil fuel, hydrocarbon gas, methane gas.

46.lasting (adjective)

English Meaning - enduring, persisting, continuous, permanent.

47.drag (noun)

English Meaning - hindrance, impediment, obstacle, burden.

48.contract (verb)

English Meaning - shrink, decline, decrease, diminish.

49.new series of the ICI (noun)

English Meaning - the updated version of the Index of Core Industries with a revised base year. This revised series of the Index of Core Industries (ICI) was releases on July 20, 2026, shifting its base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23. Compiled by the Office of Economic Adviser (DPIIT), the updated framework adds iron ore as a ninth core sector and modernizes compilation methods.

50.volume terms (noun)

English Meaning - measurement based on the physical quantity of goods rather than their monetary value; physical quantity, quantitative measure, amount basis, volume measure.

51.Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) (proper noun)

English Meaning - natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state for ease of transport; liquid fossil fuel, super-cooled natural gas, condensed natural gas, liquid methane.

52.marginal (adjective)

English Meaning - minor and not important; slight, small, minimal, negligible.

53.appetite (noun)

English Meaning - a strong desire or liking for something; desire, demand, hunger, craving.

54.whet (verb)

English Meaning - excite or stimulate someone’s desire or interest; stimulate, arouse, awaken, trigger.

55.dependence (noun)

English Meaning - reliance, dependency, need, subordination.

56.prove (verb)

English Meaning - turn out to be, emerge as, be found to be, show itself to be.

57.expensive (adjective)

English Meaning - costing a lot of money; costly, high-priced, pricey, exorbitant.

58.mean (verb)

English Meaning - have as a consequence or result; result in, entail, lead to, involve.

59.import bill (noun)

English Meaning - the total financial cost a country incurs for importing goods and services; import cost, import expenditure, foreign purchase cost, overseas spending.

60.jump (verb)

English Meaning - rise suddenly and by a large amount; surge, skyrocket, soar, spike.

61.tariff (noun)

English Meaning - a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports; tax, duty, toll, levy.

62.levy (verb)

English Meaning - impose a tax, fee, or fine; impose, charge, exact, demand.

63.such as (phrase)

English Meaning - for example or of a kind that; for example, like, namely, including.

64.burden (verb)

English Meaning - cause someone hardship or distress; weigh down, oppress, trouble, strain.

65.ethanol-blending (noun)

English Meaning - the practice of mixing ethanol with petrol to reduce reliance on fossil fuels; biofuel mixing, ethanol mixing, green fuel integration, renewable fuel blending.

66.have not yet (phrase)

English Meaning - not happened or been done up to the present time; not thus far, not so far, not up to now, not to date.

67.impact (verb)

English Meaning - have a strong effect on someone or something; affect, influence, alter, change.

68.materially (adverb)

English Meaning - significantly, substantially, considerably, meaningfully.

69.bright spot (noun)

English Meaning - a pleasant or successful thing in an otherwise bad situation; positive aspect, silver lining, ray of hope, glimmer of hope.

70.consecutive (adjective)

English Meaning - successive, succeeding, sequential, uninterrupted.

71.thanks to (phrase)

English Meaning - due to or as a result of; owing to, because of, as a result of, by virtue of.