GDP Growth At 4.7% In Oct-Dec, Meets Economists' Expectations

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 per cent in October-December, in line with economists' estimates, official data showed on Friday. The National Statistical Office's estimates on GDP growth in the country come days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said "green shoots" are visible in the economy, and at a time when the government has pegged the overall GDP growth of 5 per cent in the financial year ending March - the worst rate of annual expansion since the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

The GDP growth rate in the December quarter matched the forecast of analysts in a poll by news agency Reuters, but was below a revised 5.1 per cent growth rate for the previous quarter. 

The figure for the July-September period was revised to 5.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent, according to the statistics ministry statement. Also, the estimate of GDP expansion in the first quarter of 2019-20 (April-June) was revised to 5.6 per cent from 5 per cent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government took several steps earlier this month to bolster economic growth, including increasing state spending on infrastructure, but many economists expect the impact of those efforts to be outweighed by the global fallout from the coronavirus epidemic spreading out of China.

The Finance Minister has maintained that the fundamentals of the economy remain strong, and that she's not closing the door on additional steps to support it. The Budget has laid the foundation for driving consumption and strengthening infrastructure for achieving the government's target of making India a $5-trillion economy, she said this month.

India lost its position as the world's fastest-growing major economy last year. The government has set a target of making the country a $5-trillion economy by 2024.