India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered a growth of 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter, according to the government data released on Thursday. It was 6.2 per cent in the same quarter last year. It is much higher than the projection of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last month. In the first quarter of 2023-24 (FY24), India's GDP grew by 7.8 per cent.
The jump in GDP figures in the second quarter was led by manufacturing and construction industries.
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The highest growth was registered in the manufacturing industry at 13.9 per cent in Q2 as compared to a fall of 3.8 per cent in the same quarter last year. It was 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of FY24.
The second-highest growth was witnessed in the construction industry at 13.3 per cent. It was 5.7 per cent in Q2FY23. In Q1FY24, it was 7.9 per cent.
The electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services industry registered the third-highest growth of 10.1 per cent as compared to 6 per cent in Q2FY23. In Q1FY24, it was 2.9 per cent.
During the July-September quarter, the agriculture industry grew at a slower pace of 1.2 per cent as compared to 2.5 per cent a year ago. It had grown by 3.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
The MPC last month, had predicted the second quarter GDP growth at 6.5 per cent. However, at the Business Standard BFSI Summit last month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the Q2 GDP figure is likely to surprise everyone on the upside.
Das had said, "Looking at the momentum of economic activity, looking at a few early indicators, I can say that the second-quarter GDP number, as and when it is released, at the end of November, in all probability will surprise everyone on the upside."
For FY24, RBI has pegged India's GDP growth projection at 6.5 per cent. In a report titled "China Slows India Grows", rating agency S&P said that it expects India to grow at 6.4 per cent. For next year, FY25, S&P has pegged India's GDP growth at 6.9 per cent.
Earlier on Thursday, the government data showed that the output of eight key infrastructure sectors rose by 12.1 per cent in October 2023 against a 0.7 per cent expansion a year ago. All the sectors except for fertiliser recorded healthy production growth in the month under review.
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In September, the core sector (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity) grew 9.2 per cent.
The output growth of eight sectors was at 8.6 per cent in April-October this year against 8.4 per cent a year ago.
Moreover, India's fiscal deficit at the end of October, at Rs 8.03 trillion, touched 45 per cent of the full-year budget estimate of Rs 17.86 trillion.
On the GDP numbers, Nilanjan Banik, economist at Mahindra University said, "The convergence of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and mobile (JAM) has revolutionized access to services and economic opportunities. Just as physical infrastructure reduces the cost of doing business, digital public infrastructure has democratised access to opportunities, removing barriers and promoting inclusivity. Added to this is the government's push for building physical infrastructure and bringing the unbanked population into the realm of formal sector banking. And all these activities are culminating into the robust economic growth we are seeing today."