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India’s real gross domestic product grew 7.8% in the April-June quarter of 2026-27, the National Statistics Office said on Monday. The growth outpaced both private forecasts and the Reserve Bank of India’s projection for the quarter as strong services, manufacturing and investment activity offset weakness in mining and relatively softer growth in the primary sector.
Real gross domestic product at constant 2022-23 prices was estimated at Rs 81.36 lakh crore in Q1 FY27, up from Rs 75.46 lakh crore a year earlier, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said. Nominal GDP rose 10.3% to Rs 88.27 lakh crore from Rs 80 lakh crore. Real gross value added (GVA), which measures output before accounting for net product taxes, grew 8.2% to Rs 73.82 lakh crore.
The 7.8% growth rate was higher than the 6.9% recorded in Q1 FY26, although it moderated from the revised 8.6% pace in the January-March quarter, according to the official release. The growth print was 80 basis points above the RBI’s latest projection of 7% for the June quarter. In its August monetary policy statement, the central bank had said the economy performed better than expected in Q1, but projected FY27 growth at 6.7%.
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Services lead, manufacturing stays firm
The composition of growth showed that services remained the main engine of the economy. The tertiary sector grew 10% in real terms, led by financial, real estate, IT and professional services, which expanded 12.1%. Trade, hotels, transport and communication-related services grew 8.5%, while public administration, defence and other services rose 7.5%.
The secondary sector grew 8.6%. Manufacturing GVA expanded 9.2%, electricity, gas, water supply and utility services grew 8.9%, while construction rose 7.7%. The primary sector was the weak spot, growing 2.9%. Agriculture and allied activities expanded 3.6%, while mining and quarrying contracted 2.4%.
The numbers suggest the headline growth was not driven by a single pocket of the economy. Industrial activity and services both remained firm even as global trade uncertainty and the West Asia conflict kept energy and input costs volatile during the quarter.
Investment gives growth another push
On the expenditure side, gross fixed capital formation, a proxy for investment in the economy, rose 11.9% at constant prices, sharply faster than the 5.8% expansion a year earlier. Private final consumption expenditure grew 7.1%, while government final consumption expenditure increased 4.3%.
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Exports of goods and services rose 12% in real terms, while imports declined 1.1%, providing additional support to headline GDP. At current prices, private consumption accounted for 55.6% of GDP and gross fixed capital formation for 34.3%, against 31.4% a year earlier.
The stronger-than-expected Q1 print gives the economy a sizeable cushion at the start of FY27, but the outlook remains less clear. The RBI has flagged an uneven monsoon, El Niño conditions, geopolitical tensions and global trade uncertainty as downside risks. However, the first-quarter data show domestic consumption and investment remained strong enough to absorb much of the external shock.
TOPICSGDPGDP growthThis article was first uploaded on August thirty-one, twenty twenty-six, at seven minutes past four in the afternoon. © IE Online Media Services (P) Ltd