New Delhi, May 31 (EFE).- India’s gross domestic product grew at a 7.2 percent pace in the financial year that ended in March, official data showed Wednesday.
The growth rate is slightly more than the estimates by financial experts but lower than the 9.1 percent India recorded a year ago.
“The growth in real GDP during 2022-23 is estimated at 7.2 percent as compared to 9.1 percent in 2021-22,” a National Statistical Office (NSO) statement said.
The data showed that the economy grew by 6.1 percent in the January-March quarter of 2022-23, compared to the same period of last year.
The construction and other services activities have boosted the growth rate while the manufacturing sector has slowed significantly to 1.3 percent, compared to 11.1 percent in the previous period.
The trading, hotels, and transport sector recorded the highest growth of 14 percent.
The 7.2 percent annual growth narrowly exceeded the expectations of the Indian central bank, which had projected a GDP growth of 7 percent.
India is the fifth largest economy in the world after the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.
But the 6.1 percent growth in the last quarter has made it the fastest-growing major economy amid upheavals caused by a global slowdown due to the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions.
China recorded economic growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year in the quarter to March, while the US economy grew by a mere 1.1 percent.
The German economy contracted 0.3 percent in the quarter, entering a technical recession.
The Japanese economy expanded by just 0.4 percent from January to March. EFE
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