India GDP growth in 2018-19 pegged at 7.2 percent

India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow at 7.2 percent in 2018-19, the government has forecast. This was seen to be in line with expectations. The forecast also said that sectors such as construction, defence, manufacturing and utility services are likely to see above average growth in the current financial year. Real GDP in 2018-19 is likely to reach about Rs 139.52 lakh crore, as against the Rs 130.11 lakh crore in the previous year.

The estimate was part of the 'First Advance Estimates of National Income 2018-18' report put together by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. India's economy had registered a 6.7 percent year-on-year growth in 2017-18, against the CSO forecast of 7.4 percent. 

However, analysts and economists have said they expect the growth figures closer to 7 percent thanks to weakening consumption trends and a slowdown in credit growth, NDTV reported. The economic performance improvement has been attributed to improvements in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

The estimates also pegged farm sector growth at 3.8 percent, over the 3.4 percent expansion of 2017-18. India's GDP had grown 8.2 percent and 7.1 percent respectively in the first and second quarters of the ongoing financial year.

Growth in the manufacturing sector is expected to rise to 8.3 percent from the 5.7 percent of 2017-18. However, India's growing services sector is expected to grow at 7.3 percent, down from 7.9 percent in the previous fiscal.

Economic growth had slowed down to 6.7 percent in 2017-18, after clocking 7.1 percent in 2016-17 and 8.2 percent in 2015-16. Despite this, India has been seen as a bright spot in global economic growth, and over this period risen over China to become the fastest growing major economy in the world. India is likely to hold on to the top spot considering the growing number of internal suppressive factors for China's growth performance.