New Delhi, Feb 8: Indian economy will grow at a 5- year high of 7.6 per cent In the fiscal ending March. Overtaking a slowing China, on the back of improvement in manufacturing and farm sectors. Gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 7.6 percent. In 2015-16 compared with 7.2 per cent a year earlier, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The previous high at 8.9 percent was recorded in 2010-11. China grew 6.9 percent. In 2015 while Russia contracted 3.7 per cent. Brazil is forecast to shrink 3.7 percent. However, India’s GDP growth slowed to 7.3 per cent in October- December, from the revised 7.7 per cent of the previous quarter. It, however bettered the 6.6 per cent in the same period of the last fiscal. On the GDP data, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said, “the direction of the numbers is very positive The policy and reform measure the government has undertaken in last one-and-a-half years are beginning to show results.” The economic growth projection of 7.6 per cent for the current fiscal by CSO has surpassed the estimates of the Finance Ministry Reserve Bank and other multilateral agencies. The CSO’s estimate is higher than the Finance Ministry’s mid-year economic analysis, which projected a growth rate of 7-7.5 per cent for the current fiscal. It is also higher than 7.4 per cent estimated by the Reserve Bank of India. IMF has projected Indias growth at 7.3 per cent while Asian Development Bank expected India’s GDP to expand at 7.4 per cent in 2015-16. Service has put the corresponding figure at 7 per cent for this fiscal. ‘Going ahead, we hope to see a continued moment urn on the reforms front. We look forward to the Union Budget giving a positive direction to the economy. The focus should clearly be on Introducing measures to further boost domestic investments and demand. Ficci secretary-general A. Didar Singh said.
The real Gross Value Added (GVA), a new concept introduced by CSO to measure economic growth, is projected at 7.3 per cent in this fiscal against 71 per cent in 2014-15. The manufacturing sector is estimated to grow at 9.5 per cent in 2015-16. up from 5.5 per cent a year ago. Similarly, in case of agriculture sector, the growth has been projected at 1.1 per cent as against a decline of 0.2 per cent in year-ago period. The growth of mining and quarrying sector, electricity and power supply and other services is likely to witness deceleration during the current financial year.
