GROWTH IS ALL ROSY, BUT WHAT IS RE DOING IN PITS?

GROWTH 2-YR-HIGH, RE ALL-TIME LOW, PETROL NEW PEAK

If one goes strictly by the growth figures dished out by the BJP government, there is much to cheer about as far as the economy is concerned. It grew at a robust 8.2 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2018-19, the highest in two years. The growth was propelled by a robust performance of manufacturing sector and heightened consumer spending, it is claimed. Incidentally, the previous quarterly high was recorded in 2015- 2016 January-March quarter at 9.3 per cent.

The rosy growth figures have come amid a debate over the BJP government’s economic record versus that of the previous Manmohan Singh administration after back-series data released recently showed that the GDP growth rate had crossed 10 per cent mark during UPA rule. Also, with the 8.2 per cent rate, India retains its status of the world's fastest growing economy, as China had reported GDP growth of 6.8 per cent for the quarter ending June.

Incidentally, the Indian government had changed the base year for GDP calculation from 2004-05 to 2011-12, a move that had generated a lot of controversy, but that is another matter.

The results are also much better than projections by economists, who had pegged the first quarter growth to be in the 7.5 to 7.6 per cent range. This is the second straight quarter that GDP rate has beaten expectations.