8.4 percent growth in second quarter of fiscal year

Wednesday, 31 December 2003, 20:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
New Delhi, Far exceeding expectations, India registered 8.4 percent growth in the second quarter of the current 2003-04 fiscal as against 5.2 percent in the same quarter last year. Joining the league of the world's fastest growing economies, India saw its gross domestic product (GDP) register 8.4 percent growth at constant (1993-94) prices in the July-September quarter, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) stated Wednesday. In the April-June quarter, the country registered 5.7 percent GDP growth, up from 5.3 percent in the corresponding period the previous year. According to the CSO, among the drivers of the higher growth were agriculture, forestry and fishing at 7.4 percent; manufacturing 7.3 percent; construction 6.4 percent; and trade, hotels, transport and communication 11.9 percent. Besides, financing, insurance, real estate and business services at 7.3 percent, and community, social and personal services 8.9 percent also contributed. Areas that registered low growth during the second quarter of 2003-04 over the corresponding quarter in the previous year were the mining and quarrying sector at 2.3 percent, and electricity, gas and water supply sector at 2.9 percent. On the agriculture front, the department of agriculture and cooperation (DAC) data on likely production of kharif (summer crops harvested in winter) indicated a 12.8 percent increase in production of rice, 38.9 percent in coarse cereals, and 41.7 percent in pulses over the corresponding season in the previous year. Among the commercial crops, production of oilseeds is expected to rise by 63.6 percent during the kharif season of 2003-04. While production of cotton is also expected to go up by 40.9 percent, that of sugarcane is expected to decline by 6.2 percent during 2003-04 over their estimated production the previous year. Buoyed by high agriculture sector growth this year, India is expecting over seven percent GDP growth in the 2003-04 fiscal up from 4.2 percent last year.
Source: IANS
siliconindia