NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s economy is expected to grow 6.4% in the current fiscal year ending March, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday, below the initial government projection of 6.5%-7%.
India has released its first advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP), which typically undergo revisions over time as data coverage improves. The first estimate is used as a base for the federal budget due to be announced on Feb. 1.
The Indian economy, Asia’s third largest after China and Japan, grew 8.2% in 2023/24 and 7% in 2022/23.
In nominal terms, which include inflation, the economy is expected to grow 9.7%, compared with the 10.5% estimate in the annual federal budget announced in February 2024.
Government spending is estimated to rise by 4.1% year-on-year in 2024/25, up from a 2.5% increase in the previous fiscal year, while private investment is seen rising by 6.4%, lower than the 9% growth in the previous year.
Private consumption, which accounts for nearly 58% of GDP, was seen expanding by 7.3% year-on-year compared to a 4% expansion in the previous fiscal year.
Manufacturing, which accounts for about 17% of GDP, is projected to expand 5.3% year-on-year in 2024/25, compared with 9.9% a year ago, while the construction output was seen growing by 8.6%, down from 9.9% in the previous year, data showed.
Growth in farm output, which contributes about 15% of GDP and employs more than 40% of the workforce, was seen picking up to 3.8% in the current fiscal year, from 1.4% a year ago.