India's 7.3 percent growth neck-and-neck with China's (Roundup)

India may have just fallen short of surpassing China as the fastest-growing emerging market economy in 2014-15, but its 7.3 percent growth is expected to have matched that of the Asian neighbour, according to official data released here Friday.

The Indian economy had expanded by 6.9 percent in the previous fiscal year.

Even as official data from Beijing is awaited, estimates on the Chinese economy also suggests a 7.3 percent growth during 2014-15. Multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also in their recent estimates said India may well be the fastest-growing emerging market economy.

The growth in India's gross domestic product (GDP) -- which is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in the country -- was estimated to have expanded by just 4.7 percent in 2013-14 as per the earlier estimate. But after a revision in base year to 2011-12, the growth stood altered to 6.9 percent.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has already been taking the credit for a faster economic growth in its first year in office, even as he Congress party has charged that the government had in financial jugglery to project a much higher growth.

The growth for the four quarters of fiscal 2014-15 was 6.7 percent, 8.4 percent, 6.6 percent and 7.5 percent, according to the release issued by the Central Statistics Office under the ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

The official statement said the growth in agriculture output was at 0.2 percent in 2014-15, manufacturing at 7.1 percent and services at 10.7 percent. The advance estimates had indicated a figure of 1.1 percent, 6.8 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively fo the three sectors.

Meanwhile, India Inc. described the GDP figures as "encouraging" which confirmed the industry's assessment that the economy is showing signs of recovery.

"GDP growth of 7.3 percent in 2014-15 is encouraging and is in line with broad expectations," A. Didar Singh, secretary general of industry chamber FICCI said in a statement here.

"Some downside risks continue to pervade. Agriculture output may be impacted with a sub-normal monsoon forecast this year, weak demand remains a persisting concern and a firm turnaround in the domestic capex cycle is awaited," he added.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the GDP numbers for the fourth quarter show a rebound in growth as compared to the previous quarter on the back of improved performance of the mining and manufacturing sectors as well as trade.

"The figures show that investment demand is showing definite signs of improvement over the previous quarter. We are hopeful that consumption demand would pick up pace in the coming time," Banerjee added.

According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the 7.5 percent GDP growth rate witnessed in Q4 of 2014-15 (year-on-year) signals definite positive developments.

"The government needs to keep on pushing more ground level reforms and improve implementation so as to realize the economy's true potential," Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.