New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The Central government’s Chief Economic Advisor, V. Anantha Nageswaran, said on Friday that India’s GDP growth for the financial year 2025-26 is likely to be 7 per cent or more as official figures showed that the country’s Q2 growth surged to 8.2 per cent after recording a robust 7.8 per cent rise in Q1.

Addressing a press conference on the second-quarter GDP numbers, the CEA said that India’s economic growth continued to outpace major economies.

“In the first half of FY26, the Indian economy recorded 8 per cent real GDP growth, while the full-year expansion would be 7 per cent or more than 7 per cent,” Nageswaran remarked.

He said agricultural output for 2024-25 indicated a record harvest, non-food credit picked up, and high-frequency indicators such as PMI and freight movement showed ongoing momentum.

Besides, the CEA underscored the strong rural and urban demand while observing that stable inflation had supported household savings.

Nageswaran said: “We are looking at an economy that has shown dynamism and cumulative positive impact of the last 10–11 years of investments in physical and digital infrastructure, the resilience on the part of exporters to the tariff shock and the policy actions taken since June 2024.”

However, he said: “There is an adverse impact of the higher US tariffs imposed on Indian goods. Despite the stellar efforts by exporters to find other markets, there is naturally still a negative impact.”

Nageswaran further stated that the third quarter began on a “sound footing and the employment situation remains steady” in the Indian economy.

India’s GDP growth accelerated to a robust 8.2 per cent in the second quarter (July-September) current financial year compared to the corresponding figure of 5.6 per cent during the same quarter of FY 2024-25, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday.

The secondary and tertiary sectors, with growth rates of 8.1 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively, have boosted the real GDP growth rate in Q2 of FY 2025-26 to rise above 8 per cent, an official statement said.

The IMF has forecast India to be the only economy that is expected to clock an over 6 per cent growth rate in 2025-26 as the US tariff turmoil is expected to disrupt world trade and slow down the growth of the global economy.

–IANS

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