AGS NEWS – India has once again affirmed its position as the world’s fastest growing major economy, recording a robust expansion of 8.4% in the final quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year.

This economic feat comes amidst preparations for a general election later this year.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his satisfaction with the achievement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, citing it as a testament to the strength and potential of the Indian economy.

Projections indicate that India is poised to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third largest economy in the coming years.

The impressive growth was primarily driven by a stellar performance from the country’s manufacturing sector, which saw a remarkable expansion of 11.6% during the period.

Private consumption, constituting nearly two-thirds of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), experienced a notable increase of 3.5%.

However, consumer spending had been impacted in the previous year due to soaring prices of essential commodities such as onions. In response, the government implemented several measures to mitigate food price inflation.

In recent times, Prime Minister Modi has intensified government expenditure on infrastructure and introduced incentives to bolster the manufacturing of various products including phones, electronics, drones, and semiconductors, aiming to enhance India’s competitiveness in the global market.

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In a significant development, the government granted approval for the construction of three semiconductor plants worth 1.26 trillion rupees ($15.2 billion; £12 billion) by companies including Indian conglomerate Tata.

Nevertheless, the agricultural sector, which contributes approximately 15% to India’s $3.7 trillion (£2.93 trillion) economy, continued to face challenges, primarily due to deficient monsoon rains.

This has led to protests by farmers demanding minimum crop prices.