GDP growth rate revised to 9% for 2005-06

NEW DELHI: The Government on Wednesday announced that India's Gross Domestic Product for 2005-06 stands revised up to 9 per cent (from the previous estimates of 8.4 per cent) against 7.5 per cent during 2004-05.

The revision has had an effect on the growth in the agriculture sector, which is now shown at six per cent for 2005-06 against the previous estimates of just 3.9 per cent.

Manufacturing is shown a shade better at 9.1 per cent as against the previous figure of 9 per cent.

With the revision in the figures by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the GDP growth shows a significant improvement for the previous financial year over 2004-05.

If the trend of the first half of the current financial year continues for the rest of 2006-07, it would be for the second year in a row that the country's GDP would grow by 9 per cent with the distinction of being the second fastest growing economy in the world, after China.

According to official figures, the growth rate of 9 per cent in GDP during 2005-06 was achieved due to high growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, insurance, construction, financing, real estate and business services and transport.

Both savings and investment rates were above 30 per cent of GDP in 2005-06.

The Gross Capital Formation at current prices constituted 33.8 per cent of GDP in 2005-06 as against 31.5 per cent in 2004-05, while the Gross Domestic Saving (GDS) accounted for 32.4 per cent of GDP as against 31.1 per cent.

While savings by household and private sector corporates rose, those by the public sector undertakings declined.

In the household sector, saving in the form of financial and physical assets went up from Rs 318,791 crore and Rs 356,043 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 416,462 crore and Rs 380,655 crore in 2005-06 respectively.

Saving of private corporate sector went up from Rs 223,512 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 288,430 crore in 2005-06.

The saving of the public sector, however, showed a decline from Rs 74,682 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 71,262 crore in 2005-06.

This decline in public sector saving was mainly due to decrease in the saving of public authorities.