Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
India’s GDP growth accelerated to 6.1% in the January to March 2023 quarter, lifting the economy’s uptick in 2022-23 to 7.2% from 7% estimated earlier, as per the provisional national income data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on May 31.
The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy is reckoned to have risen 7% in 2022-23, compared to 8.8% in 2021-22, with manufacturing GVA growth sliding to 1.3% from 11.1% a year ago.
In January, the NSO had estimated India’s real GDP to grow 7% in 2022-23, slowing from the revised figure of 9.1% in FY22.
GDP growth saw an uptick in the January-March 2023 quarter from 4.4% in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23
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Three of eight broad economic activity segments recorded a higher GVA growth in 2022-23 from 2021-22 — Agriculture (4% from 3.5%), Financial, Real Estate and Professional Services (7.1% compared to 4.7% in 2021-22), and Trade, Hotels, Transport, Communication and Services related to Broadcasting, which grew marginally faster at 14%.
GVA from the employment-intensive Construction sector grew 10% in 2022-23, from 14.8% in 2021-22. Mining and Quarrying GVA growth slowed to 4.6% from 7.1%. Electricity, Gas, Water Supply & Other Utility Services’ GVA rose 9%, only slightly slower than 9.9% in 2021-22. Public Administration, Defence and Other Services’ GVA grew 7.2% in 2022-23, compared to 9.7% in the previous year.
The NSO has also revised GDP and GVA numbers lower for the first half of the year, but bumped up the third quarter (Q3) figures slightly. Q1 GDP growth in 2022-23 is now pegged at 13.1%, followed by a 6.2% rise in Q2 and 4.5% growth in Q3 (from 4.4% estimated in February).
Consumption remained tepid and the overall growth pattern remains uneven, economists said. “While growth in private final consumption expenditure witnessed a slight uptick to 2.8% in Q4 from 2.2% in Q3, it remained muted, belying the uptick in consumer sentiments as per the RBI’s consumer confidence survey,” ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar pointed out.
