Industry growth accelerates in Q4, agriculture, services slow

The country's industrial sector recorded a significant increase in growth in the fourth quarter of FY2025–26, while growth in the agriculture sector declined and the services sector also slowed compared with the previous year.

At constant prices, the agriculture sector grew 1.73% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of the 2025–26 fiscal year.

The sector had recorded 3.19% growth in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, meaning its growth declined by 1.46 percentage points year-on-year in the fourth quarter.

In the first three quarters of FY2024–25, agriculture sector growth stood at negative 0.12%, 1.90% and 4.61%, respectively. In contrast, this sector grew 2.11%, 3.68% and 1.74% in the first three quarters of FY2025–26, respectively.

Meanwhile, the industrial sector posted a sharp rebound in the fourth quarter. At constant prices, industrial growth jumped to 6.52% in Q4 of FY2025–26, up from just 0.92% in the same quarter a year earlier.

Industrial growth, however, remained volatile in the first three quarters of the fiscal year. The sector grew 4.80%, 5.78% and 3.33% in the first three quarters of FY2024–25, respectively, compared with 6.82%, 1.27% and negative 0.28% in the corresponding quarters of FY2025–26.

The services sector, too, posted stronger growth in the fourth quarter, rising to 4.28% in FY2025–26 from 2.26% in the same quarter a year earlier.

However, services sector growth lost momentum in the first three quarters of FY2025–26. The sector grew 4.49%, 3.48% and 7.32% in the corresponding quarters of FY2024–25, but growth slipped to 4.51%, 4.45% and 3.52% in FY2025–26.

Overall, the fourth quarter saw stronger growth in industry and services, while agriculture lost ground from a year earlier, underscoring a sharp divergence in sectoral performance across the economy.