INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Forecasts for the $2.59 trillion economy ranged between 7.0 and 8.0 per cent.Benagluru: Economy likely grew 7.6 per cent in the April-June
quarter, propelled in part by an improvement in manufacturing and exports, a Reuters poll showed
The median consensus in a poll of 50 economists put annual economic growth just a touch lower than the near two-year high of 7.7 per cent in
the January-March quarter
Forecasts for the $2.59 trillion economy ranged between 7.0 and 8.0 per cent
The poll results suggest domestic demand was strong, driven primarily by manufacturing activity that remained solid despite elevated oil
prices and a weakening Indian rupee
The government is due to release the GDP data on Friday."India is a domestic-driven economy - so a recovery in private consumption can
outweigh external headwinds," said Charu Chanana, economist and market strategist at Continuum Economics.In the April-June 2017 quarter,
India reported relatively weak annual growth of 5.6 per cent, as manufacturing activity contracted.The Indian economy was hit by the
November 2016 government decision to withdraw over 80 per cent of cash
The transition to a national goods and services tax, effective in July 2017, also impacted the economy.If the median prediction for the
April-June quarter proves correct, it was will be the third period in a row with 7 percent or higher growth.India is now "seeing good
momentum in manufacturing
Corporate results for April-June quarter have corroborated the improving demand conditions in the economy," said Shubhada Rao, chief
economist at Yes Bank."Corporate earnings data, the PMIs have corroborated the expansion and the recovery story," Rao added.Still, a few
economists expect a slight slowdown in growth due to greater global economic uncertainty and domestic political risks from national
elections scheduled for May 2019.The Indian government's preferred growth measure, gross value added (GVA), is predicted to have marginally
declined to 7.5 per cent from 7.6 per cent the previous quarter, hampered by weak agriculture growth.India's fiscal deficit widened in the
April-June quarter to 68.7 percent of the budgeted target for this fiscal year, a concern but an improvement 80.8 per cent for the same
period of 2017.This should provide some comfort to the Reserve Bank of India which raised its key rate to 6.5 percent at its August 1 policy
meeting to try and rein in above-target inflation.The retail inflation rate slowed in July to a four-month low of 4.17 per cent, slightly
above the central bank's 4 per cent medium-term target.The consumer price index has been above-target for nine consecutive months due to
higher oil prices and a depreciating rupee.Although the RBI remains concerned about inflation, policymakers there still expect economic
