Q1 GDP numbers reflect India's resilience, outlook remains positive: Economic Affairs Secretary

New Delhi [India], August 30 : Robust Q1 GDP growth underlines the basic resilience and the strengthening of the momentum in the economy, which is anchored in strong macro-economic fundamentals, a senior government official said on Saturday.

Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, toldthere is all-round growth on the supply side and robust growth across several sectors.

India's real GDP is estimated to have grown by 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of the financial year 2025-26, surpassing the 6.5 per cent growth rate in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, according to official data released on Friday. India's nominal GDP grew at an 8.8% rate during the April-June quarter.

"On the supply side, we have seen all-round growth. On the manufacturing, construction...engineering side activity and agriculture side has shown a robust growth. The rabi harvest as well as kharif showing have been much in excess from last quarter...We have good buffer stock. We have had a good rainfall," Anuradha Thakur said.

On the demand side, the primary driver has been domestic. She explained that net exports do not contribute significantly to the demand side in India.

Asked about the likely impact of the 50% tariffs imposed by the US administration, she said the Indian economy's dependence on exports is not that high.

"There could be some near-term disturbances, but in the overall year scenario...we are not changing our growth figures as yet," she said, referring to the GDP estimates for the entire 2025-26 fiscal.

In the Economic Survey for 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on January 31, the real GDP growth for 2025-26 was projected to be between 6.3 and 6.8 per cent. The GDP estimates for the year 2025-26 haven't been revised since then.

Going forward, the outlook remains positive, and the momentum that has been demonstrated in Q1 shall hold up, the Secretary said.

"Agriculture is the strong reason for saying that...The indicators we see on the high frequency side also give us confidence that consumption will also hold up," she said.

India's fiscal deficit for April-July has widened to 29.9% of the 2025-26 target, compared to 17.2% in the same period last year.

Asked how concerned one should be about this slippage, she responded that monthly or quarterly fiscal deficit numbers are not necessarily an indicator for the full year.

"Because, on monthly or quarterly basis there could be temporary mismatches between the flow of non-debt receipt and expenditure. On the overall year number, we remain confident that we will be able to stick to the fiscal deficit target we had set for ourselves and we will be able to maintain that," the Secretary noted.

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