GDP set to grow 8% or more in Jan-March quarter: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman said that the economy is expected to show the same rate of year-on-year expansion for the 2023/24 financial year due to the impact of improved inflation management and macroeconomic stability.

“Hopefully the fourth quarter … will also have (growth) of 8% or above 8% resulting in 2023/24 having an average growth in GDP of 8% or over 8%,” Sitharaman said during an event in the financial hub of Mumbai.

India’s GDP data for the Jan-March quarter is due to be released on May 31.

India, the third-largest economy in Asia, grew 8.4% in the October-December quarter year-on-year, outpacing the 7.6% growth recorded for the previous quarter.

As per govt’s second advance estimates, the GDP is likely to grow at 7.6% in the current fiscal year to March 31.Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das, however, said that the final figure could exceed govt’s estimates.”I would not hesitate to say that India’s GDP growth in FY24 will exceed 7.6%, it might be closer to 8%,” he said in an interview to ETNow earlier this month.

“So, 9.7%, 7%, and 7.6%. If you take the average, it is 8%. And the 7.6 can be closer to 8%. So, the momentum is continuing to be very strong and so therefore we are quite optimistic about next year,” Das added.