India's Q1 GDP: Economy Grows 6.7 Per Cent During April-June Quarter Of FY25

India's Q1 GDP: Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 6.7 per cent in Q1 of FY 2024-25 over the growth rate of 8.2 per cent in Q1 of FY 2023-24

India's Q1 GDP Data: India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in the April-June quarter (Q1) of the 2024/25 fiscal year grew by 6.7 per cent, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), on Friday. "Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 6.7 per cent in Q1 of FY 2024-25 over the growth rate of 8.2 per cent in Q1 of FY 2023-24," the finance ministry said in a statement.

The agriculture sector recorded a 2 per cent growth, down from 3.7 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2023-24, as per NSO data released on Friday. However, the growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated to 7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 5 per cent in the year-ago period. The previous GDP low was 6.2 per cent in January-March 2023.

In Q1 of FY2024-25, India's Real GDP is estimated to have grown by 6.7 per cent, down from the 8.2 per cent growth recorded in Q1 of the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, Nominal GDP growth accelerated to 9.7 per cent, compared to 8.5 per cent in the same period last year.

According to NSO data, Real Gross Value Added (GVA) also experienced a slowdown, growing by 6.8 per cent in Q1 FY 2024-25, down from 8.3 per cent in Q1 of FY2023-24. The growth in GVA was primarily driven by robust performances in the Secondary Sector, with Construction growing by 10.5 per cent, Electricity, Gas, Water Supply & Other Utility Services by 10.4 per cent, and Manufacturing by 7.0 per cent.

The Nominal GVA growth rate was estimated at 9.8 per cent, up from 8.2 per cent in Q1 of the previous fiscal year. Additionally, Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), at constant prices, recorded growth rates of 7.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively.

Net Taxes at current prices observed a growth rate of 8.0 per cent, contributing to a minimal 0.1 per cent gap between the growth rates of GVA and GDP.

The RBI in its latest MPC announced that the real GDP forecast for FY25 was kept at 7.2 per cent, with slight adjustments: Q1 at 7.2 per cent, Q2 at 7.2 per cent, Q3 at 7.3 per cent, and Q4 at 7.2 per cent.  The forecast for real GDP growth for Q1FY26 is projected at 7.2 per cent.

Moody's Ratings on Thursday, however, raised India's GDP growth forecast for 2024 and 2025 calendar year to 7.2 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively, on strong broad-based growth. The ratings agency said that the growth could be higher if the cyclical momentum, especially for private consumption, gains more traction.

Core Sector Growth

Meanwhile, in July, the production growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.1 per cent, impacted by a decline in crude oil and natural gas output, as per official data released on Friday. Despite this, the growth rate improved from 5.1 per cent in June. The core sectors—coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement, and electricity — had shown an 8.5 per cent growth in July 2023. For the April-July period of this fiscal year, core sector output increased by 6.1 percent, compared to 6.6 percent in the same period last fiscal year.