Indian economy grows 7.4 percent first quarter

Thursday, 30 September 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: India's gross domestic product (GDP) registered a lower growth of 7.4 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal even as the World Bank ranked the economy the fourth largest on purchasing power parity. The country's economy had registered an 8.2 percent growth in the quarter ended March 31, 2004 and 10.5 percent in the quarter ended Dec 31, 2003. Central Statistical Organisation data Thursday attributed the slower growth in the first quarter of this fiscal to lower farm output expansion of 3.6 percent, even as the manufacturing sector grew at a robust pace of eight percent. The construction industry also registered a lower growth of 3.6 percent while the country's booming telecommunications sector expanded at a double-digit rate of 11 percent and social services posted a 9.3 percent growth. Among other sectors of the economy, mining and quarrying grew 6.1 percent, while electricity, gas and water supply rose 6.3 percent. The government had targeted a GDP growth of seven-eight percent for the current fiscal but expressed doubts after the uneven distribution of monsoon that affected sowing of crops in many parts of the country. The CSO data said the GDP during April-June 2004 was 3.52 trillion ($74 billion) as against 3.28 trillion ($69.7 billion) in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Source: IANS