India’s economy grew at a seven-quarter high of 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed. As seen in Chart 1, gross domestic product (GDP) had previously grown by 7 per cent in Q3FY18, up from 5.6 per cent in Q1FY18, suggesting a steady pick-up in economic activity over the past year.
Gross value added (GVA), which excludes product taxes and subsides, grew by 7.6 per cent in Q4FY18. But, as seen in Chart 2, excluding public administration, defence and other services, which largely connotes government spending, GVA