India's Q1 GDP data for FY23: Economy grows 13.5% in April-June on pandemic rebound, fiscal deficit narrows to 20.5%

The Indian economy grew at 13.5 per cent in the April-June quarter of financial year 2022-23, as per provisional estimates released by National Statistical Office on Wednesday. The GDP had expanded by 20.1 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2021-22.

“Real GDP or gross domestic product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices in Q1 2022-23 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 36.85 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.46 lakh crore in Q1 2021-22, showing a growth of 13.5 per cent as compared to 20.1 per cent in Q1 2021-22," according to an official statement.

This is the fastest annual expansion in a year. The last time GDP hit a higher annual growth was in April-June 2021, when it was 20.1 per cent higher than the pandemic-depressed level of a year before. Many analysts had projected the Indian economy will expand at a double-digit growth rate due to the base effect.

According to rating agency Icra, the gross domestic product was likely to grow at 13 per cent while State Bank of India in its report, projected the growth rate at 15.7 per cent for April-June 2022.

Earlier this month, in its monetary policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the GDP growth rate is likely to be around 16.2 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

China registered an economic growth of 0.4 per cent in April-June 2022.

Meanewhile, the Centre's fiscal deficit touched 20.5 per cent of the annual target at the end of July 2022-23 against 21.3 per cent a year ago, reflecting improvement in public finance, as per official data released on Wednesday.

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit - the difference between expenditure and revenue - was Rs 3,40,831 crore during the April-July period this financial year. A fiscal deficit is a reflection of government borrowings from the market.

The tax revenue stood at Rs 6.66 lakh crore or 34.4 per cent of this year's BE. Last year too, the government had managed to mop 34.2 per cent of its annual estimate during April-July.

The data further revealed that the central government's total expenditure was Rs 11.26 lakh crore or 28.6 per cent of the BE 2022-23, almost same as in the year-ago period.

Capital expenditure was 27.8 per cent of the full-year budget target compared to 23.2 per cent in the corresponding period last year, as per the monthly account of the Union government up to July 2022, released by the CGA.

For 2022-23, the fiscal deficit of the government is estimated to be Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 per cent of the GDP.