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New Delhi: India’s economy grew by 13.5% in the first quarter of the current fiscal (2022-23), mainly due to the base effect, official data showed on Wednesday, August 31.
It was down from the 20.1% recorded in the corresponding April-June period of 2021-22, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The GDP for the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2021-22 had witnessed a growth of 4.1% on account of better performance by manufacturing, mining and construction sectors.
Many analysts had projected the Indian economy will expand at a double-digit growth rate due to the base effect.
According to rating agency Icra, the GDP was likely to grow at 13% while State Bank of India in its report had projected the growth rate at 15.7% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022-23.
Earlier this month, in its monetary policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the GDP growth rate is likely to be around 16.2% in the first quarter of this fiscal year.
China registered an economic growth of 0.4% in April-June 2022.
Also read: Will the Indian Growth Narrative Hold Steady in the Coming Quarters?
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry also released the monthly core sector data of eight industries — coal production (up 11.4%), crude oil production (down 3.8%), natural gas production (down 0.3%), refinery products (up 6.2%), fertiliser production (up 6.2%), steel production (up 5.7%), cement production (up 2.1%) and electricity production (up 2.2%).
Separately, as per official data, the Union government’s fiscal deficit touched 20.5% of the annual target at the end of July 2022-23 against 21.3% a year ago, reflecting improvement in public finance.
In actual terms, the fiscal deficit – the difference between expenditure and revenue – was Rs 3,40,831 crore during the April-July period this financial year.
A fiscal deficit is a reflection of government borrowings from the market.
(With PTI inputs)