India's GDP grows at robust 7.7% in Q4 of FY18, full year growth at 6.7%

The economy registered a robust growth rate of 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY18, thereby lifting the GDP growth rate for the entire fiscal to 6.7 per cent, less than the 7.1 per cent registered in the previous year. A survey done by Bloomberg pegged the growth rate at 7.4 per cent for the fourth quarter taking the overall GDP growth for FY18 over the 7 per cent mark. The numbers are in line with the CSO estimates which pegged the GDP growth at 6.6 per cent. The robust fourth quarter GDP numbers indicate that the economy has recovered from the sluggishness witnessed in the first half due to policy disruptions on account of demonetisation and the patchy roll out the goods and services tax (GST).The uptick in GDP figure is supported by the buoyancy in the industrial production data in the fourth quarter. The core sector also witnessed a growth of 4.7 per cent in April compared to 4.4 per cent in March. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity, constitute 40.27 per cent of the total industrial production. Economic growth for the third quarter (Oct-Dec) stood at a healthy 7.2 per cent riding on the back of a healthy investment demand in the economy.The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revised its GDP projection for the fiscal FY18 to 6.6 per cent compared to the earlier figure of 6.5 per cent which was put out in the first advance estimate.The Indian economy had expanded by 7.1% in 2016-17, 8.2% in 2015-16 and 7.4% in 2014-15.However, rising crude oil prices which showed its impact on the WPI for the month of April pose a challenge for the economy. The finance ministry had said that rising international oil prices may raise India's import bill up to $50 billion worsening the current account deficit (CAD).

from The Economic Times https://ift.tt/2xubiqj