India’s GDP grows by 7.8% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24

New Delhi: Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) has projected that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate stood at 7.8 % in the first quarter of the financial year 24 (April- June). With this, India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world with China closely trailing behind with a GDP growth rate of 6.3 %.

However, the 7.8 % growth in Quarter 1 of FY 2024 remained significantly lesser in comparison with the GDP growth rate of the first quarter of the previous Financial year which stood at 13.1%.

As per NSO’s data released on August 31, the growth in the manufacturing sector saw a drastic deceleration of 4.7 percent compared to the first quarter of FY2022-23 while the agricultural sector witnessed a 3.5% growth, up from 2.4% of the previous fiscal (April-June) of 2022-23.

The country’s GDP at the current price (Nominal GDP) also witnessed a growth of 8% which is not even one-third of FY 2022-23’s growth rate which was 27.7 percent.

Demand situation going to go up?

Despite being concerned with the declined GDP growth rate in the current fiscal year, economists are hopeful that the approaching festive season will help boost the Indian economy and provide it with a steady pace in the near future.

Speaking about the same, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a recent interview with Economic Times asserted that the country’s economy will grow stronger by the fall of the year.

“Till after the new year, you would have enough reasons to believe that the demands situation is only going to go up so I expect the next quarter will also do well,” added the finance minister in the same interview.

Fiscal Deficit reaches 33.9% in first quarter

Previously on Monday, the Government also shared data that showed its fiscal deficit touching 33.9% of the full-year target.

As per the latest data released by the Controller of General Accounts, the fiscal deficit, which is the gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue stood at ₹ 6.06 lakh crore by the end of July 2023 which was about 20.05% of the Budget Estimates in the FY 2022-23’s corresponding period.

Key Infra sector’s growth rose up to 8% in July

The data also projected an 8% growth of eight key infrastructures which is 3.2% more than the 4.8% growth that was recorded in the same month of the previous fiscal year on expansion in the production of natural gas, coal, and crude oil.

Production of steel, electricity, and cement also witnessed an increase in the month of July, revealed the data shared by Commerce and Industry Ministry. However,  July’s core sector growth rate remained lower in comparison with the previous month’s growth rate which was 8.3%.