knnindia36d ago
New Delhi, Feb 28 (KNN) India’s economic growth is projected to reach 7.6 percent in the financial year 2025–26, according to the second advance estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the government on Friday. The revised estimate is higher than the 7.4 percent projected in the first advance estimates released in January, which were based on the earlier data series.The updated GDP series, presented by Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg and Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, incorporates a new base year of 2022–23, replacing the earlier 2011–12 base year. The revision also integrates additional datasets aimed at improving the representativeness and granularity of economic measurement.Growth Revisions for Previous YearsUnder the new series, GDP growth for 2023–24 has been revised downward to 7.2 percent fr0m 9.2 percent estimated under the old series. Conversely, growth for 2024–25 has been revised upward to 7.1 percent fr0m the earlier estimate of 6.5 percent.The government also released GDP data for the third quarter of 2025–26 under the new series. Growth for the quarter stood at 7.8 percent, compared to 8.4 percent in the second quarter and 6.7 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year.Sectoral PerformanceAs per the second advance estimates for 2025–26, the secondary sector is expected to grow by 9.5 percent, up fr0m 7.3 percent in 2024–25. Manufacturing is projected to be the primary driver, with growth estimated at 12.5 percent in 2025–26 compared to 8.3 percent in the previous year. Construction growth is estimated at 6.9 percent, marginally lower than 7.1 percent in 2024–25.The primary sector is expected to witness a slowdown, with growth projected at 2.8 percent in 2025–26 against 5 percent in the previous year. Agricultural growth is estimated to moderate to 2.5 percent fr0m 4.3 percent, while mining and quarrying growth is expected to decline to 5 percent fr0m 11.2 percent.The tertiary sector is projected to expand by 8.9 percent in FY26, up fr0m 8.3 percent in the previous year. Growth in services is expected to be supported by double-digit expansion in trade, hotels, transport and communication (10.3 percent), as well as financial, real estate, IT and professional services (10 percent).Nominal GDP and Fiscal ImplicationsAccording to the new series, India’s nominal GDP is estimated at Rs 345.47 lakh crore in 2025–26, approximately 3.3 percent lower than the estimate based on the previous series. The size of the economy for 2023–24 and 2024–25 has also been revised downward by 3.8 percent each.Economists note that the downward revision in nominal GDP could have implications for key fiscal indicators, including the fiscal deficit-to-GDP and debt-to-GDP ratios, potentially altering the trajectory of the government’s fiscal consolidation plans.(KNN Bureau)