Highlights: India's FY24 fiscal deficit lower than full-year target, shows data

India GDP data release updates: Catch all the news updates on the release of India's Q4 GDP data here

The government's fiscal deficit in the financial year ended March 31 was 95.3% of the target, data showed on Friday

India's economy grew 7.8 per cent in the March quarter, pushing up the annual growth rate to 8.2 per cent, according to official data released on Friday. Growth in the January-March period was lower than the 8.6 per cent expansion in the December quarter. The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded 6.2 per cent in the January-March period of the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Eight key infrastructure sectors' growth rose to 6.2 per cent in April on healthy expansion in the production of natural gas, refinery products and electricity, according to official data released on Friday. The production of eight sectors grew by 6 per cent in March.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) for the January-March quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q4FY24) and the full year (FY24) will be released today evening. The macroeconomic data will come only days ahead of the  Lok Sabha polls results 2024, which is scheduled to be announced on June 4.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release the Q4 growth numbers and the provisional estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) data for FY24 today evening.

Carrier Air India was issued a notice by the civil aviation Ministry today after a 20-hour delay on a Delhi-San Francisco flight. Passengers onboard the flight fainted beacuse of a lack of air-conditioning.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today stated that he will be surrendering on June 2 and asserted that he will not bow down even if he is hounded in jail. "I have to surrender on June 2 and I do not know how long I will stay in jail this time. I am going to jail for saving this country from dictatorship and I am proud of it," Kejriwal said at a virtual press conference. "They tried to break me. They stopped my medicines while I was in jail. My weight reduced by six kg after being arrested. My weight was 70 kg when I was arrested. I have not gained weight after coming out of jail," Kejriwal said.

After a brewing water crisis in the national capital, the Delhi government has moved the Supreme Court to seek a direction to Haryana to supply more water to it, news agency PTI reported today. The AAP government in Delhi has told the top court that the water demand in the city has risen significantly due to heatwave conditions, and neighbouring Haryana be directed to release extra water for a month, they said.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna was interrogated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after he landed in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport in the early hours of Friday. Revanna was arrested at the airport by the SIT, after he arrived from Germany and then taken to the CID office for interrogation. Revanna had left the country in April as video clips showing him sexually abusing multiple women began making the rounds in Karnataka.

 Donald Trump became the first former US president ever convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Jurors convicted Trump of all 34 counts he faced.  The former president could in theory be sentenced to four years in prison for each count but is more likely to receive probation. The judgement exposes him to potential prison time in the city where his manipulations of the tabloid press helped catapult him from a real estate tycoon to reality television star and ultimately president.

A passenger of an Air India flight claimed  some people fainted inside the aircraft, which had no air-conditioning, after a delay of over eight hours on Thursday. On Thursday, Shweta Punj, a journalist, in a post on X, said flight No. AI 183 was delayed by over eight hours, and "people were made to board the plane and sit without air-conditioning" at Delhi airport.

10:33 PM

Man arrested from UP for making threat call to blow up Taj Hotel, airport

A caller who recently threatened to bomb the airport and Taj Hotel in Mumbai has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh, police said on Friday.

 

The accused has been identified as Arvind Rajput.

 

Police said that the motive behind the threat is yet to be ascertained.

 

"His mobile phone has been seized," police said.

 

Further investigation is underway.

 

Mumbai Police on Monday said that it received a threat call in which a caller mentioned that bombs had been placed at the Taj Hotel and at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the city.

 

Police carried out searches at the premises but nothing suspicious was found.

9:12 PM

Global news: Sri Lanka decides to defer debt payments until 2027, says President Wickremesinghe

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that a strategic decision has been made to defer debt payments until 2027 and focus on renegotiating repayment terms to extend until 2042.

 

The island nation, in April 2022, declared its first-ever sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The unprecedented financial crisis led President Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit office in 2022.

 

7:48 PM

GDP data updates: Growth momentum to continue in Modi 3.0, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday termed 8.2 per cent GDP growth in 2023-24 as 'remarkable' and said the growth momentum will continue in the "third term of the Modi Government". Today's GDP data showcases robust economic growth with a growth rate of 8.2 per cent for FY 2023-24 and 7.8 per cent for the fourth or March quarter of FY 2023-24. "This remarkable GDP growth rate is the highest among the major economies of the world," Sitharaman said in a post on X. She said the manufacturing sector witnessed a significant growth of 9.9 per cent in 2023-24, highlighting the success of the Modi government's efforts for the sector.

6:33 PM

13 poll personnel in UP's Mirzapur die following fever, high BP; exact reason being ascertained: Official

13 poll personnel in UP's Mirzapur die following fever and high BP; exact reason being ascertained, said medical college principal Raj Bahadur Kamal

6:09 PM

Fiscal deficit for 2023-24 at 5.63% of GDP against revised estimate of 5.8%, says govt data

Fiscal deficit for 2023-24 at 5.63% of GDP against revised estimate of 5.8%, said govt data.

6:06 PM

India's forex reserves drop by $2 bln to $646.67 bln

India's forex reserves dropped by $2.027 billion to $646.673 billion for the week ended May 24, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.In the previous reporting week, the kitty had reached an all-time high of $648.7 billion after a jump of $4.549 billion. For the week ended May 24, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1.51 billion to $567.499 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

5:59 PM

India's fiscal deficit in FY24 recorded 95.3% of the target

India's fiscal deficit in the financial year ended March 31 was 95.3% of the target, data showed on Friday.

5:55 PM

Adani Ports signs a 30-year concession pact to operate a terminal at Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania

Adani Ports signs a 30-year concession pact to operate a terminal at Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania, said company in a statement.

5:20 PM

Eight key infra sectors growth rises to 6.2 pc in April

Eight key infrastructure sectors' growth rose to 6.2 per cent in April on healthy expansion in the production of natural gas, refinery products and electricity, according to official data released on Friday. The production of eight sectors grew by 6 per cent in March. The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.6 per cent in April 2023. The official data showed that fertiliser output recorded negative growth in April.

5:18 PM

India's economic growth in Q1 FY24

In the first quarter of FY24, India's GDP rose by 7.8 per cent. The economy benefited from the front-loading of capital expenditure (capex) by the Centre and a pick-up in demand after two consecutive weak quarters.

5:12 PM

Capital formation is expected to remain robust: Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda

“Supported by the central government and state governments as they look to complete the investment cycle, capital formation is expected to remain robust. Also, there are signs of green shoots in private capex as well. Overall, investment in Q4 is expected to remain robust and lead overall growth to 7.2 per cent in Q4,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda.

4:39 PM

What was India's economic growth in Q2 FY24?

India's GDP registered a 7.6 per cent growth rate in the July-September quarter of FY24. This marked a rise from the 6.2 per cent growth rate in the same quarter the previous year and also surpassed the projections made by the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

4:28 PM

What was India's growth rate in Q3 of FY24?

India's GDP growth rate for the third quarter of FY24 was at 8.4 per cent. This figure significantly exceeded the RBI estimate of 6.5 per cent, as reported by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of MoSPI.

4:24 PM

GDP expansion will moderate to a four-quarter low 6.7 per cent in Q4: Chief economist at ICRA Ratings

“Some listed FMCG players pointed to recovery in the rural economy, particularly in the non-food segment, in Q4. This can be partly attributed to the uptick in demand during the marriage season as well as a low base. Additionally, urban consumption is expected to have remained robust, albeit uneven. It is projected that GDP expansion will moderate to a four-quarter low 6.7 per cent in Q4,” Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA Ratings, said.

4:15 PM

Growth would moderate to 7.1 per cent in Q4: IDFC Bank chief economist

“In Q4, some signs of recovery are visible in rural demand with fast-moving consumer goods sales growth (volumes) in rural areas exceeding those in urban areas for the first time in two years. Two-wheeler sales growth remains strong for the second consecutive quarter. However, urban consumption, which has been the key support for private consumption, remains mixed in Q4, with slowdown in FMCG sales growth (volume). That said, other indicators have held up, such as passenger-vehicle sales, luxury items and electronic payments indicators. Our estimate is that growth would moderate to 7.1 per cent in Q4,” said Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist, IDFC Bank.