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India’s Economy Likely To Have Picked Up In First Quarter

India’s GDP likely to have grown 6.5 percent in the June-ended quarter.



Employees load a centrifugal air blower onto a truck (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
Employees load a centrifugal air blower onto a truck (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

The pace of growth in the Indian economy may have quickened despite the lingering effects of demonetisation and destocking ahead of the Goods and Services Tax rollout.

India's gross value added growth in the quarter-ended June is likely to grow at 6.2 percent from 5.6 percent in the previous quarter, a Bloomberg poll of 43 economists showed. GVA growth has become a preferred measure of economic growth as it strips out the impact of indirect taxes and subsidies. The country's gross domestic product (GDP), a more commonly used measure, is expected to grow 6.5 percent during the quarter, compared to 6.1 percent in the March-ended quarter.

India’s Economy Likely To Have Picked Up In First Quarter

The Central Statistics Office will release the GDP figures around 5:30 pm on Thursday.

India's economic growth had slowed sharply in the March-ended quarter after all sectors except agriculture and public administration, saw a decline. Growth was expected to remain subdued after the transition to GST was expected to hit the manufacturing sector, in particular.

Despite the improvement, growth is likely to remain soft as it has been falling singularly since mid-2016, said Pranjul Bhandari, economist at HSBC Global Research.

The growth from higher private consumption and government spending is likely to be offset by weak investments and the continued growth in exports during the quarter, Bhandari said in a research note. He added that agriculture and trade services are likely to be strong, while financial services growth is expected to remain subdued.