GDP growth at 6.5% in 2024-25, slowest since the pandemic

The Hindu

3 days ago

While a significant uptick in economic activity in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 pushed GDP growth for the full year to 6.5%, as per the provisional estimates for 2024-25 released by the government on Friday, this is the slowest since the pandemic year 2020-21.
As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, real GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 accelerated to 7.4%, the fastest quarterly growth in the year. Quarterly GDP growth stood at 6.4% in Q3. Nevertheless, growth in Q4 of 2024-25 was slower than the 8.4% seen in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year.
Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, in a press briefing following the release of the data, sought to downplay the post-COVID slowdown in the Indian economy, saying that India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' global environment.
'If you look at India's growth differential in real terms, India's growth rate differential in comparison to the average growth rate of advanced economies was on the lower side during the 'boom era' between 2003 and 2010,' Nageswaran explained. 'The growth differential post-COVID is higher than the growth differential in the 'boom era'.'
'In other words, in a growth-scarce environment, post-COVID and despite the rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, India is holding up its growth numbers better than many advanced economies,' he added.
The agriculture sector continued its strong performance in Q4, leading to a relatively strong showing for the full year. The 'Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing' sector grew 5.4% in Q4 of the year, up from 0.9% in Q4 of 2023-24. This helped propel the full year's growth for the sector to 4.6% in the full year 2024-25, up from 2.7% in 2023-24.
The manufacturing sector's growth stood at 4.8% in Q4 of FY25, the second fastest quarterly growth in the year, on a high base of 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. The sector grew 4.5% in the full financial year 2024-25, down from 12.3% in 2023-24.
The construction sector returned to double-digit growth of 10.8% in the fourth quarter, the fastest in the year, and faster than the 8.7% seen in Q4 of 2023-24. The sector's full-year growth stood at 9.4% in 2024-25, down from 10.4% in 2023-24.
Growth in the tertiary sector — a composite of all the services sectors — stood at 7.3% in Q4, in line with the growth in Q2 (7.2%) and Q3 (7.4%). Growth in Q4, however, was slower than the 7.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. In the full year 2024-25, the tertiary sector grew at 7.2%, lower than the 9% in the previous year.
The data released on Friday also showed that growth in household consumption – as measured by the Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) figure — quickened to 7.2% in 2024-25 from 5.6% in the previous year.
Gross Fixed Capital Formation, a measure of asset creation by the public and private sectors, saw growth slowing to 7.1% in 2024-25 from 8.8% in 2023-24. This is despite growth in this spending quickening to a six-quarter high of 9.4% in Q4 of 2024-25.
Hand over Saeed, Azhar if serious about talks: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that if Pakistan was serious about holding talks with India, it should first hand over Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar.
Speaking onboard INS Vikrant off the Goa coast, Singh described Operation Sindoor as 'India's frontal assault against terrorism' and warned that 'if Pakistan resorted to anything evil, it would face the Indian Navy's firepower.'
He said the Navy had transformed into a strategic force, significantly strengthening India's maritime presence. 'It warns the enemy that India is no longer just a regional power, it is becoming a global power,' he said.
Addressing officers and sailors onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, Singh said the Pakistani Navy had not ventured out during the operation, asserting that had it done so, it 'would have faced the consequences.'
He said Pakistan must recognise that the 'dangerous game of terrorism it has been playing since Independence' must come to an end. 'Now, if Pakistan instigates any terrorist act against India, it will have to bear the consequences and face defeat. India will not hesitate. It will use every method to root out the menace of terrorism,' he said.
Stating that anti-India activities were being conducted openly from Pakistani soil, Singh said India was 'completely free' to carry out operations against terrorists across the border and at sea. 'Today, the whole world is acknowledging India's right to protect its citizens against terrorism,' he added, urging Pakistan to dismantle the 'nursery of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands.'
Regarding the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the Minister reiterated India's position on Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. 'Both of them are not only in India's list of 'Most Wanted Terrorists', they are also UN-designated terrorists… Hafiz Saeed is also guilty of the Mumbai attacks, and justice must be done for his crime,' he said.
Responding to Pakistan's repeated calls for dialogue, Singh said, 'If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and PoK. If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India so that justice is served.'
Highlighting the Indian Navy's contribution during the integrated operation, he said that while the Indian Air Force struck terror bases across the border, the Navy ensured maritime dominance. Its 'aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores,' he noted.
Singh said that within 96 hours of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, ships from the Navy's Western Fleet conducted successful firings of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes from both the western and eastern coasts. 'It demonstrated the combat readiness of our platforms, systems and crew and our intent and readiness, forcing the enemy to come into a defensive posture,' he said.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position, the Minister said: 'If any terrorist attack takes place on Indian soil, it will be considered an 'act of war' and responded to in the same way.' He added that Operation Sindoor was 'not yet over; it was just a pause and a warning.'
Commending the armed forces for their swift execution and strategic clarity, he said India was prepared for contemporary warfare, which now extended into cyberspace, data dominance, and strategic deterrence. 'It is a matter of pride that the Navy is moving ahead in these areas,' Singh said.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence noted that in addition to INS Vikrant, Singh also embarked on other key frontline warships that formed part of the Carrier Battle Group and played a pivotal role in confining Pakistani naval units to the vicinity of the Makran coast.
IndiGo to terminate Turkish Airlines plane lease agreement before August 31
IndiGo has given an undertaking to the DGCA that it will terminate its agreement with Turkish Airlines under which it uses the latter's two Boeing 777 aircraft and crew to provide flights to Istanbul from New Delhi and Mumbai.
'In order to avoid passenger inconvenience due to immediate flight disruption, IndiGo has been granted a one-time last and final extension of three months to August 8, 2025 for these damp leased aircraft,' according to a press statement from the aviation regulator. There have been boycott calls for Türkiye following its support for Pakistan during the military strikes along the India-Pakistan border earlier this month.
The statement said that though the regulator had initially rejected their request for extending the lease arrangement beyond May 31, 2025 for six months, temporary relief for three months was granted on the basis of an assurance from the airline that it will terminate the agreement before August 31.
The airline 'wet-leased' two Boeing 777 aircraft in 2023 to provide flights to Istanbul to overcome the impact of a sizeable grounding of aircraft because of issues with Pratt & Whitney engines as well as technical limitations of using its own narrowbody A321 to fly to the Turkish capital it had originally deployed. The airline was being forced to either take a midway fuel stop or carry fewer passengers because of weight-related considerations on the route.
Supreme Court gets three new judges, reaches full strength of 34
The Supreme Court got three new judges in Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A.S. Chandurkar, who were sworn in by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai in a short ceremony on Friday.
With this, the number of judges of the court has reached its sanctioned strength of 34. This will continue until the retirement of Justice Bela M. Trivedi on June 9, 2025.
Justices Anjaria, Bishnoi and Chandurkar were welcomed with warm handshakes by Chief Justice Gavai after they took their oath of office.
Justice Bishnoi took the oath of office in Hindi.
The Collegium headed by Chief Justice Gavai had recommended Justice Anjaria, who was Chief Justice, the High Court of Karnataka; Justice Vijay Bishnoi, who was Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court; and Justice Chandurkar, a judge of the Bombay High Court, to the top court in a meeting held on May 26, 2025.
The government had approved their names for appointment on May 29, in just three days.
Justice Anjaria's parent High Court is Gujarat and Justice Bishnoi's is the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Chandurkar started his career in the Bombay High Court itself.
Justice Anjaria was born in March 1965 at Ahmedabad, and hails from a family of lawyers. As an advocate, he had been a senior panel counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation, BSNL, the Union Public Service Commission, the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in November 2011 and confirmed as a Permanent Judge in September 2013. He took oath as the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice on February 25 last year.
Justice Bishnoi was born in March 1964 at Jodhpur. He enrolled as an advocate in July 1989. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 2013 and became Permanent Judge of the High Court in January 2015. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on February 5, 2024.
Justice Chandurkar was born in April 1965 and joined the Bar in July 1988. He was elevated to the Bombay High Court Bench on June 21, 2013.
Pakistan targeted civilian areas in J&K, and Poonch suffered most damage, says Amit Shah
Promising to work out a comprehensive relief package and build more underground shelters for border residents affected by the Pakistan Army's shelling in J&K, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while touring the shelling-affected residential areas of Poonch on Friday, said the damage inflicted on the nine airbases of Pakistan by India forced it 'to come forward for a ceasefire proposal'.
'On the night of May 7, terror headquarters and other centres in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan were destroyed in response to the cowardly Pahalgam attack. Precise intelligence and measured targets by the security agencies saw no civilian deaths or the Pakistan Army being targeted. Though hundreds of terrorists were killed.
'Shaken Pakistan took it as an attack on itself. It proved before the world that Pakistan provides safe havens to terrorists. The next day, J&K's residential areas were targeted by shelling by Pakistan, with Poonch being the worst affected. It was only when Pakistan's nine air bases were damaged that it came forward for a compromise (ceasefire proposal),' Shah said in his speech in Poonch.
The Union Home Minister said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new defence policy, India demonstrated that the response to such condemnable attacks 'would be of the same intensity'.
'It's clear any aggression or attack on civilians or on borders will be responded to strongly and forcefully. Our army demonstrated it,' he said.
On the alertness and dedication shown by the Border Security Forces (BSF) during the three-day military confrontation, Shah said, 'The BSF has been vigilant during peacetime too. It was evident from the fact that 118 Pakistani posts were destroyed or damaged in minimum time by the BSF selectively. It will take the enemy four to five years to rebuild them.'
He reiterated India's position on talks with Pakistan. 'Terror and talks, terror and trade can't go together. Blood and water can't flow together,' Shah said.
Admitting that recent events impacting the development process in J&K, Shah said, 'J&K's path of development may have slowed down for a short time. It will resume its pace soon and no one can hinder J&K's development,' he added.
He expressed his indignation over the shelling of residential areas and on the religious places, including a temple, a gurdwara and a madrasa in Poonch, by Pakistan. 'It was for the first time since 1947, Poonch saw shelling that also hit a gurdwara, a temple and a madrasa. The entire world condemned the attack by Pakistan,' the Union minister said.
Meanwhile, Shah handed over job letters to the kin of those civilians who died in Pakistani shelling in Poonch and promised to work out a comprehensive package for the affected population.
At least 14 civilians, including four children, died in Pakistani shelling. 'No relief or compensation can compensate for the loss of lives. However, it reflected the Centre's, the J&K government's and 1.4 billion people's sentiment towards the victims. We stand with them like a solid rock,' Shah said.
He praised the J&K government, officials and elected representatives for standing with border residents and ensuring their safety.
'After Narendra Modi took over as the PM, we constructed 9500 bunkers in border areas and managed to save lives. Taking into consideration the recent shelling by Pakistan. more bunkers will be built to face any eventuality in the future,' the Minister said.
In brief:
Kerala rains: IMD declares red alert for eight districts
With heavy rainfall continuing to batter Kerala districts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday (May 30, 2025) upgraded the rainfall alert level for the State by putting eight districts on red alert for extremely heavy rainfall (above 20 cm in a 24-hour period). Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod are on red alert. All the remaining six districts are on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall. Indications are that rainfall is likely to taper off in most districts after Saturday (May 31, 2025). Only isolated heavy rainfall is expected in all 14 districts on Saturday (May 31, 2025). Some of the northern districts are also likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall till at least June 3, according to the latest update.
Trump administration orders extra vetting of all visa applicants linked to Harvard University
The U.S. State Department ordered all its consular missions overseas to begin additional vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Friday (May 30, 2025), in a move that significantly expands President Donald Trump's crackdown against the academic institution. In a cable dated May 30 and sent to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed the immediate start of 'additional vetting of any non-immigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.' Harvard University failed to maintain 'a campus environment free from violence and anti-Semitism', the cable said, and that the enhanced vetting measures were aimed at helping consular officers identify visa applicants 'with histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence.'
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.