New Delhi:
The Indian economy grew at 15-quarter high of 8.2 per cent in the April-June quarter of current fiscal on a good show by manufacturing and farm sectors, according to the government data released on Friday.
The growth cemented India's position as the fastest growing major economy, clocking higher expansion rate than China's 6.7 in the same quarter.
"We are the fastest growing economy.Our economy is back on the track," Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said. He also expressed hope growth could exceed estimates of 7.5 per cent this fiscal year.
"The GDP growth rate…indicates clearly that several structural reforms introduced such as GST have started giving rich dividends," Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.
The gross domestic product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices in the first quarter of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 33.74 trillion, as against Rs 31.18 trillion in Q1 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 8.2 per cent, a Central Statistics Office statement said.
"Strong acceleration in value addition was led by the farm sector and double-digit growth in the manufacturing sector. The performance of industry and agriculture have encouragingly improved," said B Prasanna, group executive and head-global markets group, ICICI Bank.
"While the recent fall in the rupee is likely to provide some support to exporters, rising global protectionism and slower global growth might limit the pickup in exports this year. Therefore, the major support to growth needs to come from a sustainable recovery in private consumption and investment," CARE Ratings said in a note ahead of release of GDP growth data release.
According to the statement, the quarterly GVA (Gross Value Added) at the basic price at constant (2011-2012) prices for Q1 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 31.63 trillion, as against Rs 29.29 trillion in Q1 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 8 per cent over the year-ago period.
The previous high quarterly GDP growth was recorded in July-September period in 2014-15 at 8.4 per cent.
As per the data, the quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2018-19 from manufacturing' sector grew by 13.5 per cent as compared to a contraction of 1.8 per cent in Q1 2017-18.
The Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2018-19 from agriculture, forestry and fishing' sector grew by 5.3 per cent as compared to growth of 3 per cent in Q1 2017-18.