India's GDP expands 5.4% in Dec quarter; estimated to grow 8.9% in FY22

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a slower pace at 5.4 per cent in the October-December quarter, primarily due to lacklustre manufacturing output and investment according to the data released by the government's statistics office on Monday. 

"GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q3 of 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 38.22 lakh crore, as against Rs 36.26 lakh crore in Q3 of 2020-21, showing a growth of 5.4 percent," the data stated.

The country's GDP had expanded 20.1 per cent in the April-June quarter and 8.4 per cent in July-September, mostly because of weak performances in the same quarters in 2020 when the pandemic took hold.

Additionally, the government's second advance estimates showed that the growth in GDP during 2021-22 is estimated at 8.9 per cent as compared to a contraction of 6.6 per cent in 2020-21. 

"The real GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in the year 2021-22 is estimated to attain a level of Rs147.72 lakh crore, as against the first revised estimate of GDP for the year 2020-21 of Rs 135.58 lakh crore, released on 31.01.2022," it added.

In its first advance estimates released in January, it had projected 9.2 per cent growth.

Meanwhile, the Centre's fiscal deficit at end-January worked out at 58.9 per cent of the annual budget target for 2021-22, according to official data released today.

The fiscal deficit was 66.8 per cent of Revised Estimate (RE) of 2020-21 during the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

In actual terms, the deficit was Rs 9,37,868 crore at end-January 2022 against upwardly revised annual estimate of Rs 15.91 lakh crore, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

Besides, India’s Industrial output grew a mere 0.4 per cent in December, a much slower pace than expected.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been prioritising growth and held interest rates at record lows at its February meeting, despite inflation breaching the upper limit of its target range.

Further, the Indian economy contracted by 6.6 per cent in 2020-21 on account of outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent nationwide lockdown to contain the pandemic, government had earlier stated.