India’s GDP growth hits 4-year low of 6.5% in FY25, Q4 sees 7.4% expansion

India’s economic growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the January-March period, and pulled down the annual growth rate for 2024-25 to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent, mainly due to the manufacturing sector, official data showed on Friday. The size of the Indian economy rose to Rs 330.68 lakh crore or about USD 3.9 trillion and set the stage for achieving the USD 5 trillion target in the next few years. In the previous 2023-24 fiscal year, the economy grew 9.2 per cent. China has registered an economic growth of 5.4 per cent in the first three months of 2025. The economic expansion was recorded at 7.4 per cent during January-March 2025, while it was 6.4 per cent in October-December 2024, 5.6 per cent in July-September 2024, and 6.5 per cent in the April-June quarter of the last financial year, according to economic estimates released by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The GDP had expanded by 8.4 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2023-24. The NSO, in its second advance estimate released in February, had projected the GDP growth for 2024-25 at 6.5 per cent. “Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices is estimated to attain a level of Rs 187.97 lakh crore in FY2024-25, against the First Revised Estimates (FRE) of GDP for the FY 2023-24 of Rs 176.51 lakh crore, registering a growth rate of 6.5 per cent. “Nominal GDP or GDP at Current Prices is estimated to attain a level of Rs 330.68 lakh crore in the FY 2024-25 against Rs 301.23 lakh crore in FY 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.8 per cent,” NSO said in a release. NSO further said that real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 is estimated at Rs 51.35 lakh crore against Rs 47.82 lakh crore in the year-ago quarter, registering a growth rate of 7.4 per cent. Nominal GDP in Q4 of FY2024-25 is estimated at Rs 88.18 lakh crore against Rs 79.61 lakh crore in Q4 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 10.8 per cent. Real gross value added (GVA) is estimated at Rs 171.87 lakh crore in the FY 2024-25, against the FRE for the FY 2023-24 of Rs 161.51 lakh crore, registering a growth rate of 6.4 per cent. Nominal GVA is estimated to attain a level of Rs 300.22 lakh crore during FY 2024-25 against Rs 274.13 lakh crore in FY 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.5 per cent. On an annual basis, the growth in the key manufacturing sector decelerated to 4.5 per cent from 12.3 per cent in 2023-24. However, in the agriculture sector, the output increased to 4.6 per cent in 2024-25 compared to 2.7 per cent in the preceding fiscal. During the fourth quarter, the manufacturing sector output slowed to 4.8 per cent from 11.3 per cent in the year-ago quarter. The construction segment grew 10.8 per cent in the quarter from 8.7 per cent in the corresponding period of 2023-24. The agriculture sector growth accelerated to 5.4 per cent from 0.9 per cent in the final quarter of the last fiscal. The electricity, gas, water supply, and other utility services segment grew 5.4 per cent during the fourth quarter down from 8.8 per cent in the year-ago period. GVA growth in the services sector—trade, hotel, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting—is estimated at 6 per cent in the fourth quarter marginally, lower than 6.2 per cent a year ago. Financial, real estate and professional services grew 7.8 per cent in the March 2025 quarter compared to 9 per cent in the year-ago period. Public administration, defence and other services posted almost flat growth at 8.7 per cent in the quarter.

India