Indian economy in Q3 expands by 4.7%, 10 bp down from Q2 growth

NEW DELHI: India’s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) grew at 4.7 percent for the third quarter of the current financial year, 10 basis points (bp) down as against 4.8 percent in the second quarter.
The agricultural sector grew at only 3.6% versus 4.6% quarter-on-quarter. The manufacturing growth came in at (-) 1.9% versus 1% quarter-on-quarter. The mining sector of the economy exhibited a negative growth at (-) 0.3% versus (-) 0.4% quarter-on-quarter. The electricity sector grew at 5% versus 7.7% quarter-on-quarter.
The economic activities which registered significant growth in Q3 of 2013-14 over Q3 of 2012-13 are, ‘financing, insurance, real estate and business services’ at 12.5 per cent, ‘community, social & personal services’ at 7.0 per cent, ‘electricity, gas & water supply’ at 5.0 per cent, ‘trade, hotels, transport and communication’ at 4.3 per cent and ‘agriculture, forestry & fishing’ at 3.6 per cent.  The growth rates of Q1 and Q2 estimates of 2013-14 have not been revised and would undergo revision only at the time of the release of fourth quarter estimates and provisional estimates for the year 2013-14 to be released on 31st May 2014.
Growth has slowed to half the rate of the boom years of the past decade. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sought to unleash a wave of investments by fast-tracking approvals for $80 billion in infrastructure projects last year, but implementation has been patchy and the eventual spurt in activity will come too late to deliver an election boost.
Industrial output including manufacturing and mining, which contributes around a quarter of India’s $1.8 trillion economy, contracted at rates of between 1.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent during the October-December period from a year earlier.
Elevated borrowing costs have added to manufacturers’ woes after the Reserve Bank of India hiked interest rates three times between September and January to curb stubborn inflation which showed no signs of easing even as growth tumbled.
While wholesale inflation did slow to an eight-month low in January, the fall was driven by softer food and vegetable prices which are considered volatile and could head higher again.  Still, economists expect domestic demand to regain momentum later this year after the elections. The government forecasts a recovery in growth to near 6 per cent for the fiscal year 2014/15 which begins in April.        —Agencies

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