Indian economy up fastest |
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, powered by a rebound in farm output, and an improvement in electricity generation and mining production in the fourth quarter of the fiscal. Economic growth was estimated at 7.2 per cent in 2014-15.The growth numbers for the last fiscal, which reinforces India’s position as the world’s fastest-growing large economy, came on the back of a strong 7.9 per cent growth in the last quarter of the fiscal. The robust headline number, despite faltering private investment, weak capital goods growth and shrinking exports, has reinforced expectations that the RBI would keep its policy rate on hold at its next quarterly review on June 6. The central bank has already cut its policy repo rate by 150 basis points since January 2015, reducing it to 6.5 per cent — the lowest level in more than five years. Significantly, the strong 7.9 per cent growth in the fourth quarter comes at a time when China has reported a 6.7 per cent in the March quarter — its slowest growth in about seven years. The farm sector grew by 2.3 per cent from a year ago compared with a 1.0 per cent contraction in the December quarter. Mining grew 8.6 per cent in the March quarter, up from 7.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
|
|
|
|