Economy grows at 4.8%

Abundant monsoon rains and higher farm activity pushed up economic growth to 4.8% during the September quarter and reversed the trend of a sluggish pace of expansion. Gross Domestic Product had grown 4.4% during the first quarter of the current financial year, compared to 5.2% a year ago.

The bad news is that economic growth remained below 5% for the fourth quarter in a row, while it was estimated at 4.6% during the first half (April-September) of the current financial year.

While almost all sectors fared better in Q2 of the current financial year, agriculture—the usual laggard—emerged as the star, clocking a 4.6% rise against 1.7% a year ago, the Central Statistics Office data showed. Agriculture, forestry and fishing made up for the weakness in manufacturing, which grew by 1%, with construction (4.3%) and finance and realty (10%) ensuring the quarterly performance was better than what economists had predicted.