GDP grows at 7.9 pc; good performances await results

Indian economy grew at 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 taking the overall GDP growth to a five-year high of 7.6 per cent in the fiscal, mainly on account of good performance of manufacturing and farm sectors. According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the manufacturing sector during the fourth quarter recorded a growth rate of 9.3 per cent while the farm sector grew at 2.3 per cent.

The CSO has also revised the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for previous quarters of 2015-16 -- 7.5 per cent for April-June, 7.6 per cent for July-September and 7.2 per cent for October-December.

The 7.6 per cent growth rate for 2015-16 is the same as projected by the CSO in its advance estimates of national income earlier in February this year.

Similarly the construction sector grew at 4.5 per cent, trade, hotels, transport and communication at 9.9 per cent, financial, real estate and professional services at 9.1 per cent, and public administration, defence and other services at 6.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16.

According to the new concept of Gross Value Added (GVA), farm sector grew at 1.2 per cent in 2015-16 as against contraction of 0.2 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The manufacturing sector accelerated to 9.3 per cent, up from 5.5 per cent in the previous fiscal. However, the mining and quarrying segment recorded a growth of 7.4 per cent in FY2016, down from 10.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Similarly, growth of electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services decelerated to 6.6 per cent from 8 per cent; construction 3.9 per cent (4.4 per cent); trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting 9 per cent (9.8 per cent); financial, real estate and professional services 10.3 per cent (10.6 per cent); and public administration, defence and other services 6.6 per cent (10.7 per cent).