India's GDP grows at 13.5% in Q1 FY23

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 13.5 per cent during the April-June 2022-23 quarter (Q1 FY23), government data showed on Wednesday.

"Real GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q1 2022-23 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 36.85 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.46 lakh crore in Q1 2021-22, showing a growth of 13.5 per cent as compared to 20.1 per cent in Q1 2021-22," ministry of statistics and programme implementation stated.

The Q1 FY23 figure marks the fastest growth in a year. The pace may be slower during the next few quarters due to the central bank interest rate hike.

January-March GDP (Q4) was up 4.1 per cent in FY22. The economy had recorded a growth of 20.1 per cent in April-June 2021-22 (Q1 FY22) after the pandemic-depressed level of a year before.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had predicted the GDP growth rate to touch 16.2 per cent in Q1 FY23.

In its August policy meeting, the Reserve Bank retained its projection for GDP at 7.2 per cent for the current fiscal (FY23). Its growth projections for other quarters were Q2 at 6.2 per cent, Q3 at 4.1 per cent; and Q4 at 4.0 per cent, with risks broadly balanced.

Meanwhile, the RBI has raised its benchmark repo rate by 140 basis points (bps) since May, including 50 bps this month, while warning about the impact of a global slowdown on domestic growth prospects.

Consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 55 per cent of economic activity, has been hit hard following a rise in prices of food and fuel, though monthly inflation has moderated in the past three months.

Consumer price-based or retail inflation slipped in July to 6.71 per cent as against 7.01 per cent recorded in June; and 7.04 per cent in May.

The Q2 FY23 GDP numbers would be released on November 30, 2022.

Further, another set of data released today showed that the output of eight core infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.5 per cent in July -- the lowest in six months -- against 9.9 per cent in the year-ago period.

The output of these infrastructure sectors expanded by 13.2 per cent in June, 19.3 per cent in May, 9.5 per cent in April, 4.8 per cent in March, 5.9 per cent in February and 4 per cent in January.