GDP growth rises to 7.2% in December quarter: CSO

India’s GDP growth rate rose 7.2% in the December quarter (Q3), according to the Central Statistics Office data that got released on Wednesday. 

According to CSO, country's economy grew at 6.3% in the Q2 or September quarter, after it touched the lowest in three years at 5.7% in the June quarter. 

The upward trend in the economy indicates that the Indian economy has now come out of the demonetization shock and rolling out of the goods and services tax (GST). 

Moody's Investors Service also today said Indian economy is starting to recover from the negative impact of demonetisation and disruption caused by GST roll out, but kept GDP growth estimates unchanged at 7.6 per cent for 2018.

In its global growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019, Moody's said the Budget for fiscal year beginning April 1 (2018-19) includes some measures to stabilise rural economy that was disproportionately hit by scrapping of high denomination 500 and 1000 rupee notes.

"There are some signs that the Indian economy is starting to recover from the soft growth patch attributed to the negative impact of the demonetisation undertaken in 2016 and disruption related to last year's rollout of the Goods and Service Tax (GST)," Moody's said.

The recent GDP forecasts had beaten the experts' forecast. The median in a Reuters poll on annual growth in the December quarter was 6.9 per cent, the best pace in 2017. Forecasts ranged from 6.4 per cent to 7.3  per cent. 

Now, the FY18 GDP estimate revised upwards to 6.6 per cent from earlier 6.5  per cent. 

In third quarter, manufacturing GVA growth was at 8.1 per cent as against 6.9 per cent in preceding quarter and similar figure was in the corresponding period last year. 

Agricutural GVA rose by 4.1 per cent against 2.7 per cent in preceding quarter and 7.5 per cent in year ago quarter. 

Construction showed a 6.8 per cent growth compared with 2.8 per cent growth in preceding and year-ago quarter.