India's GDP growth for the January-March quarter has jumped to 7.7%. The growth in agriculture was 4.5%. Manufacturing saw a growth of 9.1% while the construction sector saw double-digit growth at 11.5%.
Overall for the year 2017-2018 the growth rate, however, was 6.7%, this is lower than the overall growth rate of 7.1% of the preceding year.
According to United Nation's World Economic and Prospects mid-year report, India will be the fastest-growing major economy with an estimated growth rate of 7.6% in 2018. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also forecasted that India will be the world's fastest-growing major economy. According to the International Monetary Fund's 'Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook', India is estimated to grow at 7.4% in 2018.
Chief Economist at PHD Chamber of Commerce, Dr S.P. Sharma, told SBS Hindi,
"The estimates for India’s GDP growth rate are quite good which is around 7.6% for 2018-2019 according to this report. This is a very good estimate, even beyond this year the estimates are good."
Dr Sharma also said that India’s growth is being fulled by domestic consumption.
"Ours is a consumption-led growth and our own demand is intact and because of that demand, our economy is performing quite well. And in a year like this year, where even the global economy is expected to do well, India’s growth will increase at an even faster pace. The reasons for India’s economic growth are domestic. Within India, the factors behind this growth are policy reforms and our consumption-led growth, which are strong points."
But Dr Sharma adds that challenges remain.
"There are challenges as well like crude oil prices that are increasing which directly affect inflation. When inflation increases it impacts growth because then interest rates start rising so it’s a big challenge. And if global growth gets affected say because of protectionism or geopolitical tensions, that impacts developing and emerging economies which include India."
