India's growth at 7.6% in 2015-16 fastest in five years

New Delhi:  The Indian economy expanded by 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 to log the fastest growth among larger countries, while also outpacing China, official data showed on Tuesday. This was also the fastest growth for India in five years. In the last quarter of the fiscal year under review, in fact, the expansion in India's gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices -- which factors for inflation -- was 7.9 per cent, and distinctly higher than most predictions. The real per capita income also rose 6.2 per cent to Rs77,435. As per data on national income released by the Central Statistics Office, the country's GDP in actual numbers and in real terms was Rs113.50 lakh crore in 2015-16, against Rs105.52 lakh crore in the year before, showing a growth of 7.6 per cent. Based on the Reserve Bank of India's reference exchange rate of Rs67.20 to a dollar as on Tuesday, the country's gross domestic output was valued at $1.69 trillion. As per the latest data, the growth for the first four quarters of fiscal 2015-16, starting with the April-June period was 7.5 per cent, 7.6 per cent, 7.2 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively. On an annual basis, India had grown by 7.2 per cent in 2014-15, 6.6 per cent in the year before and 5.6 per cent in 2012-13. Sectorwise, those which registered growth of over 7 per cent are 'financial, real estate and professional services' (10.3 per cent), manufacturing (9.3 per cent), ‘trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting’ (9 per cent), and ‘mining and quarrying’ (7.4 per cent). Agriculture and allied activities, which had declined 1 percent in the third quarter, has shown a growth rate of 1.2 per cent, as against the growth rate of 1.1 per cent in the advance estimates, CSO said. "The upward revision is on account of use of third advance estimates of crop production released by the Ministry of Agriculture," the statement said. In the case of China, the growth rate was lower at 6.8 per cent in the last quarter of calendar year 2015 and 6.7 per cent during the first quarter of this year -- the slowest for the Asian giant since 2009. In an assessment earlier this year, both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank had said India's growth in 2015-16 will outpace that of China, and expand even faster during the current fiscal. Reviewing major developments during the fiscal, the Economic Survey for 2015-16 had said in February that the country's GDP growth at constant prices was projected to rise to 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 from 7.2 per cent in 2014-15. Among the other assessments, IMF had said in May that India remained the fastest-growing large economy with GDP expected to increase by 7.5 per cent in 2015-2016, while the World Bank had projected the growth at 7.3 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India's assessment was 7.4 per cent.