India's growth expanded to 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of the financial year, official data showed Thursday, as Asia's third-largest economy continues to recover from the fallout of several disruptive economic initiatives.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed GDP growth improved from the last quarter, which expanded at 7.2 percent, reinforcing India's status as one of the world's fastest growing economies. The result exceeded the expectations of a survey of economists by Bloomberg, who predicted India's growth for January to March 2018 at 7.4 percent. The data showed a slide in full-year expansion, however, to 6.7 percent for the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with 7.1 percent in the last corresponding period.
Analysts said the healthy Q4 figures showed that the economy had recovered from a slump, which followed a shock decision to scrap 86 percent of currency notes in late 2016 and the introduction of a new nationwide tax last year. "The after-effects of both GST (goods and services tax) and demonetisation seem to be fading off. We can expect the GDP figures to stay above 7 percent for the next few quarters," Ashutosh Datar, senior economist at Mumbai-based IIFL, told AFP.
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