India Logs July-September Quarter GDP Growth At 7.6%

The July-September GDP increased 7.6 percent, against 7.8 per cent growth seen in the previous quarter ended June, and 6.1 per cent increase seen in the last quarter of the previous fiscal year.

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.6 per cent in the quarter ended September 2023 at constant prices, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday revealed. The July-September GDP increased 7.6 percent, against 7.8 per cent growth seen in the previous quarter ended June, and 6.1 per cent increase seen in the last quarter of the previous fiscal year. Comparatively, the economy recorded a growth rate of 6.2 per cent in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year at constant prices.

Commending the performance of the Indian economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said via a post on social media platform X, "The GDP growth numbers for Q2 display the resilience and strength of the Indian economy in the midst of such testing times globally."

This growth rate surpassed the central bank's predictions for the Indian economy. Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), earlier this month, predicted the Indian economy to continue its growth momentum and clock a GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. 

Addressing the BFSI Insight Summit, the Governor earlier noted, “… looking at the momentum of economic activity, looking at a few early data points that have come in 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.”

Notably, a Reuters poll on Thursday projected that the Indian economy will report a GDP growth rate of 6.8 per cent for the July to September quarter, higher than the RBI forecast of 6.5 per cent, but lower than the 7.8 per cent growth witnessed in the economy in the preceding quarter.

The news agency noted that India could outpace a slowing global economy dampened by surged interest rates and higher energy prices. Further, solid urban consumption and government spending would be key factors in helping the country maintain a strong growth in the quarter, the report stated.

Barclays economist, Rahul Bajoria, further stated, "Domestic demand remains the key economic driver of activity, as external demand continues to remain weak." Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth told reporters the economy showed good momentum and he expected "good numbers" for the September quarter.

Further, data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) revealed that the fiscal deficit of the government reached 45 per cent of the full-year budget estimate by the end of October. The fiscal deficit during the April to October period in 2024 stood at Rs 8.03 lakh crore. In the previous fiscal year during the reviewing period, the fiscal deficit stood at 45.6 per cent of the budget estimates for 2022-23. The overall estimated fiscal deficit for FY24 is set to be Rs 17.86 lakh crore, which comes at 5.9 per cent of the GDP. 

Additionally, government data revealed that output for eight key infra sectors increased by 12.1 per cent in October against 0.7 per cent in the same period a year earlier.