Indias GDP growth accelerates to 7.8 percent in Q1 FY26, beats estimates
India's GDP surged by 7.8% in Q1 of FY26, marking the highest growth in five quarters and exceeding the RBI's projection of 6.5%. This impressive growth is primarily driven by a robust agricultural sector (3.7% growth), while manufacturing showed only marginal gains (0.1%). The data, released by the NSO, positions India as the fastest-growing major economy, surpassing China's 5.2% growth.
New Delhi: The GDP (gross domestic product) of India grew by 7.8 percent in the April-June period of the fiscal year FY26. The recorded data was the highest in five quarters. The GDP data was furnished by the National Statistics Office (NSO), under the aegis of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The impressive recorded growth is attributed to the good performance by the farming sector, as per the government data. India remains the fastest-growing major economy, with a rate of 7.8 percent, even surpassing China, which grew by 5.2 percent in the same time period.
The previous such highest GDP growth data was observed in the January-March 2024 quarter, wherein the growth rate was 8.4 percent as per the government data.
Agriculture, manufacturing sectors performance
The agriculture sector witnessed a growth of 3.7 percent, up from 1.5 percent in the corresponding period of the year-ago period, as per the NSO data released on Friday, 29 August.
However, only marginal growth has been observed in the manufacturing sector. The NSO data say that the manufacturing sector has grown marginally at the rate of 0.1 percent from the corresponding quarter of the year-ago period. The manufacturing sector recorded a growth of 7.7 percent.
"Real GDP, or GDP at constant prices, in Q1 of FY 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 47.89 lakh crore, against Rs 44.42 lakh crore in Q1 of FY 2024-25, registering a growth rate of 7.8 percent. Nominal GDP, or GDP at current prices, in Q1 of FY 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 86.05 lakh crore, against Rs 79.08 lakh crore in Q1 of FY 2024-25, showing a growth rate of 8.8 percent,” said an NSO statement.
The recently released NSO data has beaten the earlier projections made by the country's central bank. Earlier, RBI had projected real GDP growth at 6.5 percent for the current fiscal year of 2025-2026, FY26, with the April-June quarter (Q1) projection at 6.5 percent, Q2 at 6.7 percent, Q3 at 6.6 percent, and Q4 at 6.3 percent.