Manufacturing upswing lifts India Q1 GDP; growth at 8.2%

India's economic growth accelerated to 8.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2018-19, driven largely by a strong recovery in manufacturing activity, official data released on Friday showed.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), GDP at 2011-12 prices grew 8.2 per cent in the April-June quarter, compared with 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 and 5.6 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said sectors recording growth of more than 7 per cent during the quarter included manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services, construction, and public administration, defence and other services.

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector grew 5.3 per cent, while mining and quarrying expanded by only 0.1 per cent. Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting grew 6.7 per cent, while financial, real estate and professional services recorded 6.5 per cent growth.

Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices increased 8 per cent during the quarter, compared with 5.6 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing recorded GVA growth of 5.3 per cent in Q1 2018-19, up from 3 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2017-18.

The manufacturing sector emerged as the biggest growth driver, with quarterly GVA rising 13.5 per cent, compared with a contraction of 1.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

The data also showed that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for manufacturing grew 5.2 per cent during the first quarter, compared with 1.6 per cent in Q1 of 2017-18.

The latest figures indicate a significant strengthening of economic activity at the start of the 2018-19 financial year, with the manufacturing sector playing a key role in lifting overall growth.