CEA Anantha Nageswaran hails India's GDP growth as economy expands 8.4% in Q3 FY24: ‘Defying expectations...'

Calling the GDP numbers “strong” and underlining good momentum in India's economic activities, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said the country's economic growth continued to defy expectations and was better than many had projected.

India's economy expanded by 8.4% in the October-December quarter of FY24, according to the GDP data released by the NSO on Thursday. 

"So the actual performance of the economy has continued to defy expectations and do better than what many had projected underscoring the fact that a structural transformation of the economy is indeed underway, both in terms of physical infrastructure and digital infrastructure as well as inclusion agenda, boosting the purchasing power of Indian households...," PTI quoted Nageswaran as saying.

The chief economic advisor, during a media interaction after the release of GDP data, also said the agriculture sector, which recorded a decline of 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, will rebound in the next financial year.

Commenting on the agriculture sector output, Nageswaran said that prospects of healthy rabi harvesting and expectations of the fading away of El Nino and the forecast of monsoon are positive signs for a better-than-normal kharif sowing.

India's GDP grew by 8.4% in Q3 FY 24

India's economic growth accelerated to 8.4 per cent in the October-December quarter of this fiscal, mainly due to double-digit growth in manufacturing and good performance by the mining and construction sectors.

India's GDP growth rate witnessed a significant improvement from the year-ago period. The growth was 4.3 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2022, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday.

As per the gross value added, the manufacturing sector's output for the quarter under review grew by 11.6 per cent compared to a contraction of 4.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

While highlighting the growth prospects for the Indian economy, CEA Nageswaran also stressed the downside risk of external factors. Mentioning the World Trade Organisation's cut in projection for world trade growth in 2023, he said that uncertainty prevails over merchandise trade. He also pointed out the effect of geo-political uncertainty and tightened financial conditions on the growth outlook.