GDP zooms at 7.8 per cent growth rate in 1st quarter
Country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) clocked 7.8 per cent growth rate in the April-June quarter of 2023-24, as against 13.1 per cent during the corresponding period last year, according to the statistics released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). However, GDP growth in the April-June quarter fell slightly short of the RBI’s projection of 8 per cent three weeks back, but India retained the tag of the world’s fastest-growing major economy as China’s GDP growth in the same period was announced at 6.3 per cent. Of the eight major sectors, agriculture grew by Rs 17,200 crore or growth by 3.5 per cent Rs 5.12 lakh crore which was higher than the 2.4 per cent growth registered in April-June 2022-23, over the same period in 2021-22. Moreover, the growth in the manufacturing sector fell to 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal as against 6.1 per cent in the year-ago period. Gross value addition was Rs 30,000 crore, taking the cumulative GVA to Rs 6.67 lakh crore. The GDP growth in the preceding two quarters was 6.1 per cent (January-March) and 4.5 per cent (October-December). In quantitative terms, the Indian economy grew by Rs 2.74 lakh crore in April-June 2023-24 as compared to the same period last year. Net of taxes, the GDP grew by Rs 2.92 lakh crore during the same period, translating into growth of 7.8 per cent at 2011-12 prices.