India's Q4FY24 GDP growth surges to 7.8 per cent, full-year projection at 8.2 per cent

The data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation shows that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of the current financial year grew by 7.8 per cent year-on-year.

While the number is better than what most economists had predicted, the GDP growth was 6.1 per cent in the same period last year, and in the previous quarter, it was 8.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had forecasted a 6.9 per cent growth in real GDP for Q4FY24, with a full-year projection of 7.6 per cent.

It may be noted that the Real Gross Value Added or GVA has been estimated to grow at 6.3 per cent in the final quarter of FY24.

The country's real GDP for FY24 is estimated to be 8.2 per cent, compared to 7 per cent in FY23.

The government said, "Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 8.2 per cent in FY 2023-24 as compared to the growth rate of 7.0 per cent in FY 2022-23. Nominal GDP has witnessed a growth rate of 9.6 per cent in FY 2023-24 over the growth rate of 14.2 per cent in FY 2022-23.”

This indicates that the Indian economy has outperformed economists' expectations, despite facing global challenges.

On the other hand, increased infrastructure spending and robust urban demand have been identified as key drivers behind India's strong economic growth, despite global headwinds.

Ankita Amajuri, an economist at Capital Economics, had earlier attributed the “stellar performance of the economy” to sustained momentum in domestic demand.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign rating outlook from "stable" to "positive," citing expectations of continuity in economic reforms and fiscal policies, regardless of the Lok Sabha election results.