India's FY17 growth slows to 7.1%, Q4 GDP at 6.1%

New Delhi: India`s economy grew 6.1 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, slowing from a provisional 7 percent in the previous quarter, government data showed on Wednesday. 

For the 2016/17 fiscal year ending in March, growth came in at 7.1 percent in line with the official estimate. The economy grew a revised 8 percent in 2015/16.

"Real GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for the year 2016-17 is estimated at Rs 121.90 lakh crore showing a growth rate of 7.1 percent over the year 2015-16 of Rs 113.81 lakh crore," the Central Statistics Office said in a statement. 

In terms of gross value added (GVA), which excludes indirect taxes, the growth came in even lower at 6.6 percent over the GVA for 2015-16.

The demonetisation seems to have impacted the GVA in the third as well as fourth quarter of 2016-17 which slipped to 6.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively, from 7.3 per cent and 8.7 per cent.

Almost all sectors, with the exception of agriculture, showed deceleration in the aftermath of demonetisation.

While the manufacturing sector output in the fourth quarter slowed to 5.3 per cent versus 12.7 per cent in the same period of last year, the construction sector slipped into the negative territory.

Thanks to good monsoon, the agricultural sector posted a huge jump in growth as it expanded by 4.9 per cent during 2016-17 compared to dismal growth of 0.7 per cent in the previous year.

In the fourth quarter itself, the agriculture sector GVA rose by 5.2 per cent as compared to 1.5 per cent in the same period of 2015-16.

The data further said the per capita income during 2016- 17 is estimated to have attained a level of Rs 1,03,219 as compared to the estimates for the year 2015-16 of Rs 94,130 showing a rise of 9.7 per cent.