Rice production, telecom subscribers pull down GDP growth in Q2 FY23

Steel consumption, commercial vehicle sales and some other sectors help economy

India’s gross domestic product growth in the second quarter of this financial year was dragged down by rice production, crude oil production, telecom subscribers, and cargo handled at airports, as steel consumption, commercial vehicle sales, private vehicles purchase and cargo handled at sea ports helped it.

Rice production at current prices declined 20.7 per cent in the quarter against 4.9 per cent in the year-ago period. Alongside, farm and allied activities at current prices grew 15 per cent against 6.9 per cent over this period. This meant other farm activities, particularly non-crop ones, gave a fillip to the primary sector.

However, manufacturing in the index of industrial production (IIP) rose 1.4 per cent in the quarter against 8.6 per cent a year ago. IIP is adjusted for inflation. Manufacturing gross value added (GVA) contracted 4.3 per cent against 5.6 per cent over this period. Besides IIP, numbers of listed companies from stock exchanges are taken to calculate manufacturing GVA.

Cargo handled at airports at current prices fell by 3.8 per cent in the second quarter of FY23 against 24.8 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Crude oil production dropped 3.2 per cent against 2.4 per cent over this period. Telephone subscribers went down by 1.4 per cent against 1.8 per cent.

On the other hand, sales of commercial vehicles rose 39.4 per cent in the second quarter of FY23 against 24.5 per cent a year ago. Purchase of private vehicles also grew by 16.9 per cent, recovering from contraction of 9.9 per cent a year ago

Steel consumption was up by 11.3 per cent against 1.7 per cent during this period. Coal production rose 10.3 per cent, though less than 15.6 per cent a year ago.

Cargo handled at major sea ports grew 12.8 per cent against 5.8 per cent.

Though passengers handled at airports grew by 82.9 per cent, it was less than 108.7 per cent a year ago.