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India's economy rose 8.4 per cent in the October-December period, the fastest pace seen in six quarters and beating all estimates, partly helped by a surge in manufacturing activity, according to data released by the government on Thursday.
The growth rate was much faster than economists' forecasts of 6.6 per cent as seen in a Reuters poll, and higher than the revised growth of 8.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
The manufacturing sector, which for the past decade has accounted for just 17 per cent of Asia's third-largest economy, expanded 11.6 per cent year-on-year in the December quarter, compared with a revised 14.4 per cent in the previous three months.
The farm sector, which accounts for about 15 per cent of the $3.7 trillion economy, contracted 0.8 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent growth in the September quarter.
"Looking ahead, we expect economic activity to moderate over the coming quarters but it should still remain exceptionally strong, which will limit the need for policy loosening for a while," Thamashi De Silva, assistant India economist, Capital Economics, London, told news agency Reuters.
Upasna Bhardwaj, Kotak Mahindra Bank chief economist, said the sharp upward revision to the GDP comes on the backdrop of downward revision to FY23 figures and stronger investment and net exports in FY24, but lagging consumption.
With inputs from Reuters
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