GDP back in green, grows 0.4% in Q3

New Delhi: AFTER contracting for two quarters in a row, the Indian economy entered the positive territory with a growth of 0.4 per cent in the October-December quarter, mainly due to good performance by farm, services and construction sectors, official data showed on Friday.

Trade and hotel industry registered a contraction of 7.7 per cent during the third quarter this fiscal, as the sectors continued to suffer on account of coronavirus pandemic.

According to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the farm sector recorded a growth of 3.9 per cent, and the manufacturing sector output grew by 1.6 per cent in the quarter under review.

The construction sector advanced by 6.2 per cent, while electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services clocked a 7.3 per cent growth.

The NSO said, "GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q3 of 2020-21 is estimated at Rs 36.22 lakh crore, as against Rs 36.08 lakh crore in Q3 of 2019-20, showing a growth of 0.4 per cent".

The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 3.3 per cent in the corresponding period of 2019-20. In its second advance estimates of national accounts, the NSO has projected 8 per cent contraction in 2020-21, showing the pandemic impact.

In its first advance estimates released in January, it had projected a contraction of 7.7 per cent for the current fiscal as against a growth of four per cent in 2019-20.

"Real GDP at Constant (2011-12) prices in the year 2020-21 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 134.09 lakh crore, as against the first revised estimate of GDP for the year 2019-20 of Rs 145.69 lakh crore, released on 29th January 2021.

The growth in GDP during 2020-21 is estimated at (-) 8.0 per cent as compared to 4.0 per cent in 2019-20," it stated. The economy had shrunk by an unprecedented 24.4 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal following the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdowns.

In the second quarter, the GDP declined 7.3 per cent amid a perk up in economic activities after the easing of the lockdown. The first and second-quarter GDP growth figures are revised from (-) 24.9 per cent and (-) 7.5 per cent provisional estimates, respectively, released in November 2020.

The per capita income in real terms (at 2011-12 prices) during 2020-21 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 85,929 as compared to Rs 94,566 in 2019-20 - showing a contraction of 9.1 per cent in 2019-20 as against 2.5 per cent growth in the previous fiscal, it stated.

The per capita income at current prices during 2020-21 is estimated to be at Rs 1,27,768, a decline of 4.8 per cent as compared to Rs 1,34,186 during 2019-20.