Indian economy expected to grow by 7.3% in current fiscal.
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Bengaluru: India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) for the current financial year (FY24) is expected to grow by 7.3 per cent, compared with 7.2 per cent in FY23, on the back of a strong showing in manufacturing and construction sectors and public sector spending on infrastructure, according to the first advance estimates of national income released by the National Statistical Office on Friday.
The Centre’s estimate is higher than the RBI’s upgraded forecast of 7 per cent. The advance estimate data will be the base on which the Finance Ministry will build projections and assumptions for the next budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the interim Budget for FY25 on Feb 1.
A number of factors have boosted growth momentum, including better than expected resilience of the Indian economy, sustained government capex, stronger balance sheets of corporates and banks, visibility of revival of a private corporate capex cycle, and sustained momentum in software services exports despite global headwinds, said Sunil Sinha, Principal Economist, India Ratings.
“What stands out is overall improvement in performance with only agriculture disappointing at 1.8 per cent. This was expected given the lower kharif projection and slower rabi sowing,” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda.
According to the official NSO data, manufacturing sector output is estimated to grow to 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal compared to 1.3 per cent in FY23. Mining sector growth is estimated at 8.1 per cent compared with 4.1 per cent.
The agriculture sector is projected to see a growth of 1.8 per cent in FY24, lower than 4 per cent in the previous year.
Financial services, real estate and professional services are estimated to grow 8.9 per cent compared to 7.1 per cent, while the construction sector is seen at 10.7 per cent from 10 per cent last fiscal.
Data also showed that nominal GDP in FY24 is estimated to grow 8.9 per cent compared with 16.1 per cent in FY23.
Nominal GDP includes the impact of inflation, and hence the data shows the drop in inflation this year compared to last.