The Central Statistics Office on Tuesday pegged the financial year’s third quarter (October to December) gross domestic product growth rate at 7% after factoring the impact of demonetisation. It projected a 7.3% rate for 2017-2018 and 7.7% for 2018-2019.
The statement said the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors grew at 6.0%, mining and quarrying at 7.5%, manufacturing at 8.3%, utility services including electricity, gas and water supply at 6.8% and construction at 2.7%.
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said, “People projected a negative impact of demonetisation on the GDP. But we maintained growth at 7%.”
The first quarter had registered a growth rate of 7.2% while the second was pegged at 7.4%.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Economic Survey for India, had also said the gross domestic product for the current financial year would stand at 7%. The survey said India’s growth rate would rise to 7.3% in 2017-2018 and increase to 7.7% in 2018-19.
Referring to India as one of the best reformers among the G-20 countries, the OECD’s secretary-general advised the government to continue its reform momentum for more inclusive growth.
On January 31, the Centre’s Economic Survey had predicted a gross domestic product growth rate between 6.75% and 7.5% in the 2017-18 financial year.
In January, the International Monetary Fund had slashed India’s growth estimate for the current financial year to 6.6% from 7.6% and its forecast for 2017-2018 to 7.2%.
A Reuters poll had estimated the third quarter’s GDP growth to drop to a three-year low of 6.4%, while some analysts feared a sharper slowdown to less than 6%, Hindustan Times reported.
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