India’s GDP grows 6.1% in Q4FY23, full-year growth at 7.2%

NEW DELHI,MAY 31 : India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY23, better than what analysts and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had expected.

The RBI had projected growth in Q4FY23 at 5.1 per cent, while economists predicted the economy to grow over 5 per cent in the January-March period. This indicates that the Indian economy performed significantly better in the last quarter of FY23, even as the global economy faced a slowdown.

With this, the full-year FY23 GDP growth was revised to 7.2 per cent, which is higher than the central bank’s estimate of 7 per cent.

Sharing its release, the statistics ministry said, “Real GDP or GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in the year 2022-23 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 160.06 lakh crore, as against the First Revised Estimates of GDP for the year 2021-22 of Rs 149.26 lakh crore. The growth in real GDP during 2022-23 is estimated at 7.2 per cent as compared to 9.1 per cent in 2021-22,” the statistics ministry said in a release.

The ministry also said that nominal GDP in the year 2022-23 “is estimated to attain a level of Rs 272.41 lakh crore, as against Rs 234.71 lakh crore in 2021-22, showing a growth rate of 16.1 per cent”.

According to the data, the agricultural sector grew 10.3 per cent, while the mining sector recorded a growth of 16.3 per cent; the construction sector growth stood at 10.4 per cent.

Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, told news agency Reuters that the sharp upside to GDP growth shows the resilience of the Indian economy despite the global slowdown.

“However, we remain watchful on the sustainability of the strength especially when much of the non-agricultural growth has been led by public investment while consumption remain tepid,” Bhardwaj added.

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The government also released data on the growth of eight core sectors. The core sectors grew at 3.5 per cent in April 2023, slightly lower compared to 3.6 per cent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, India’s fiscal deficit for the financial year ended March 31 touched Rs 17.3 lakh crore, nearly 99 per cent of the revised annual estimate, showed government data.

The government has met the targeted fiscal deficit of 6.4 per cent of the GDP, supported by higher tax revenue even as spending increased. This was achieved even as spending increased, said the statement issued by the government.

-PTI