Agriculture Sector Grows 5.6% in Q3, Annual GDP Growth Revised to 6.5 percent
India’s agriculture sector grew by 5.6% in Q3 of 2024-25, the highest since Q1 2023-24. Despite strong agricultural performance, GDP growth for the quarter is projected at 6.2%, down from 9.5% last year. The full-year GDP growth estimate is 6.5%, with nominal GDP expected to rise 9.9%.
The agriculture sector registered a robust 5.6% growth in the October-December quarter of the current financial year, marking its highest expansion since the first quarter of 2023-24. The sector had recorded a growth rate of 5.7% in the April-June quarter of the previous financial year. Notably, the growth rate stood at just 1.5% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year, while in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal, it was 4.1%.
According to the second advance estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday, despite the agriculture sector’s strong performance, India’s GDP growth rate for the December quarter is projected at 6.2%, significantly lower than the 9.5% recorded in the same quarter of 2023-24.
At constant prices, the GDP for the current financial year is estimated to reach ₹187.95 lakh crore, up from ₹176.51 lakh crore in the previous year. At current prices, GDP is expected to expand to ₹331 lakh crore, compared to ₹301.23 lakh crore last year.
Apart from agriculture and allied sectors, all other major sectors are expected to witness a slowdown in growth compared to last year. The agriculture sector is projected to grow at 4.6%, significantly higher than the final estimate of 2.7% for 2023-24. However, manufacturing growth is expected to decline sharply to 4.3% from 12.3%, while the mining sector’s growth rate is likely to drop to 2.8% from 3.2%. The services sector, including electricity, gas, and water supply, is estimated to grow at 6%, down from 8.6%.
The construction sector is forecasted to expand at 8.6% compared to 10.4%, while trade, hotels, transport, and communication services may grow at 6.4%, lower than the previous year’s 7.5%. Financial and real estate services are also expected to witness a slowdown, with growth projected at 7.2% against 10.3% last year. Public administration and defense services, however, are likely to maintain a steady growth rate of 8.8%.
The Gross Value Added (GVA) share of agriculture and allied sectors stands at 18%, making it the second-largest contributor after financial and real estate services, which account for 23%. Manufacturing contributes 14% to the GVA.
For the full financial year, India’s GDP growth rate is projected at 6.5%. This marks an upward revision from the 6.4% growth estimate in the first advance estimates released on January 7. Meanwhile, the nominal GDP growth rate is expected to be 9.9%, slightly higher than the initial projection of 9.7%.
The GDP growth rate for the previous financial year has been revised upward by one percentage point to 9.2%, from an earlier estimate of 8.2% for 2023-24. Excluding the post-pandemic rebound year of 2021-22, the economic growth rate for 2023-24 is the highest in the past 12 years. Last year, sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and financial services recorded double-digit growth, with manufacturing expanding by 12.3%, construction by 10.4%, and financial and real estate services by 10.3%.
Additionally, the final estimates for the financial year 2022-23 have been released, revising the GDP growth rate from the earlier estimate of 7% to 7.6%.
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