GDP growth slowed in the first quarter

Due to the reduction in government expenditure due to elections and the poor performance of agriculture, the GDP growth rate in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year 2024-25 was 6.7 percent, lower than the RBI's expectations. This growth rate is the lowest in the last five quarters. The RBI had estimated a growth rate of 7.1 percent during this period. However, despite this, India remains the fastest growing country in the world even in April-June this year.

Economic experts say that the 6.7 percent growth rate in the first quarter is not a matter of concern as India's macro economy looks very strong. The country's Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageshwaran said that according to the Economic Survey presented this year, the growth rate of 6.5-7 percent in the current financial year looks absolutely realistic and if we move forward with the already ongoing structural reforms, this growth rate can also cross seven percent. However, private consumption or expenditure in April-June this year was Rs 24,56,777 crore, while in the same period last year this expenditure was Rs 22,86,468 crore. With this increase, the share of private consumption in GDP increased to 56.3 percent. In the first quarter of the current financial year, due to increase in demand in the rural sector, manufacturing performed better than last year with a growth rate of seven percent, which is good in terms of employment generation.

In the service sector, the growth rate in April-June this year was slower than the same period last year. The growth rate of services like trade, hotels, transport, communication was 5.7 percent this year, while in the same period last year this growth rate was 9.7 percent.