New Delhi: India’s economy expanded 7.8% in the first quarter of 2026-27, beating the Reserve Bank of India’s projection despite global conditions.
Real gross domestic product at constant prices was estimated at ₹81.36 lakh crore in Q1 FY27, compared with ₹75.46 lakh crore during the same quarter last year, government data released on Monday showed.
Strong Growth In Nominal GDP
Nominal GDP, which measures economic output at current prices, increased 10.3% to ₹88.27 lakh crore. It stood at ₹80 lakh crore in Q1 FY26, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Real gross value added grew faster than GDP, rising 8.2% to ₹73.82 lakh crore from ₹68.21 lakh crore a year earlier.
Nominal GVA increased 11.5% to ₹80.53 lakh crore, compared with ₹72.24 lakh crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
New Method Used For Manufacturing
The quarterly estimates have been prepared using 2022-23 as the base year. The ministry said the calculations broadly follow the International Monetary Fund’s Quarterly National Accounts Manual, 2017.
The new national accounts series uses the “double deflation” method to estimate manufacturing GVA.
Under this approach, manufacturing output and intermediate consumption are separately adjusted for price changes using producer price indices. Real GVA is then calculated as the difference between real output and real intermediate consumption.
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Growth Beats RBI Estimate
The 7.8% expansion exceeded the RBI’s Q1 FY27 growth projection of 7%. The central bank recently raised its full-year growth forecast by 10 basis points to 6.7% from 6.6%.
The RBI expects GDP to grow 6.4% in the second quarter, 6.5% in the third quarter and 6.8% in the fourth quarter.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said domestic economic activity remained resilient amid global uncertainty. High-frequency indicators and early corporate results pointed to healthy manufacturing performance during the quarter.
The opening-quarter performance reinforces India’s position among the world’s fastest-growing major economies, supported by resilient domestic demand and manufacturing activity.
