India clocks 6.5 pc GDP growth in 2024-25, Q4 growth surges to 7.4 pc

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) India's GDP growth accelerated to a robust 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024-25, as result of which the growth rate for the full financial year works out to 6.5 per cent on the back of a strong performance of the agriculture, construction, and services sectors, official data released on Friday showed.

The agriculture sector recorded a 4.6 per cent growth rate during 2024-25, up from 2.7 per cent in 2023-24 when an erratic monsoon had damaged crops. During Q4, FY 2024-25, the growth rate of the agriculture sector jumped to 5 per cent compared to 0.8 per cent in Q4 of the previous financial year, figures compiled by the Ministry of Statistics showed.

The construction’ sector is estimated to have registered an impressive growth rate of 9.4 per cent in FY 2024-25, followed by 8.9 per cent growth rate in the ‘Public Administration, Defence & Other Services’ sector while the ‘Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services’ sector posted a 7.2 per cent growth for the financial year.

During Q4 of FY 2024-25, the construction sector recorded a double-digit growth of 10.8 per cent, followed by an 8.7 per cent growth rate in the ‘public administration, defence & other services’ sector. The ‘financial, real estate & professional services’ sector registered a growth of 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Reflecting the strong demand in the economy, private final consumption expenditure recorded a 7.2 per cent growth rate in FY 2024-25 as compared to a 5.6 per cent growth rate in the previous financial year. This was driven in large measure by rural demand for goods and services shooting up due to higher incomes in the agriculture sector.

Apart from the strong performance of the agriculture sector, the massive investments by the government in big ticket infrastructure projects such the highways, railways, ports and airports have helped to drive up the growth rate as India continues to be the fastest growing economy amid the global slowdown.

The IMF has forecast India to be the only economy that is expected to clock an over 6 per cent growth rate in 2025-26, as the US tariff turmoil is expected to disrupt world trade and slow down the growth of the global economy.

--IANS

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