New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) The gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for the first quarter of current fiscal (FY26) at 7.8 per cent make India the fastest-growing nation among major economies in the world, Sanjeev Sanyal, a Member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), said on Saturday.

“The GDP estimate for the first quarter of 2025-26 has just come in, as you know. The number of 7.8 per cent is a good growth number by any standard. It easily makes us the fastest-growing major economy anywhere in the world,” Sanyal told IANS.

Sanyal, however, sees certain fiction in the GDP’s growth rate going ahead due to geopolitical issues, including US tariff jitters.

“Looking ahead, however, there are obviously certain areas of friction. Not surprisingly, one of them is going to be the US tariffs that kicked in just last week. but also the general environment of global uncertainty that we find ourselves in,” Sanyal noted.

Considering the favourable macro-economic numbers like ease in inflation, the leading economist believes that the policymakers have a lot of space that will help in confronting obstacles.

“The good news, however, is that Indian policymakers have lots of space to respond to external shocks. Inflation is low. In fact, it is at the bottom of the 2-6 per cent range for the Monetary Policy Committee. You have very well-behaved external accounts,” Sanyal stated.

“So, given all of this, let me say that policymakers are in a position to provide expansionary macro policy stimulus should the need arise,” the economist said further.

The PM EAC member further stated that S&P ratings upgrade, robust banking systems and resilient financial markets will lead to a healthy GDP growth number this year.

“We have just had, as you know, an S&P Global rating upgrade. Of course, on the financial side, the markets remain in good shape and the banking system is well capitalised,” the economist said further.

India’s GDP growth accelerated to a robust 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter compared to 6.5 per cent during the same quarter a year ago.

According to the data, compared to the 1.5 per cent growth rate recorded in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, when farm output was impacted by an unpredictable monsoon, the agriculture sector recovered with a robust 3.7 per cent growth rate in the first quarter of 2025–2026.

The manufacturing sector posted a growth of 7.7 per cent, and the construction sector grew by 7.6 per cent.

–IANS

aps/na