RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said that the growth momentum of the economy remains strong and the second quarter GDP numbers would surprise everyone on the positive side. Shaktikanta Das said geopolitical uncertainty was the biggest risk to global growth, but was quick to add that India was better able to deal with potentially risky situations.

Speaking at the annual BFSI Insight Summit organized by Business Standard, Shaktikanta Das said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was “closely” monitoring the problem of attrition in some private banks.

Commenting at a time when some major banks were reporting attrition rates of over 30 percent, Das said every bank needed to build a core team to deal with such issues.

He also said that young people’s career prospects in terms of changing jobs have changed, adding that youth now “think differently” about this aspect. He said the RBI was looking at the issue as part of regulatory oversight efforts.

India recorded a GDP growth of 7.8 percent in April-June 2023-2024, the highest in the last four quarters, supported by double-digit growth in the services sector, maintaining its position as the fastest growing country in the world economy.

The gross domestic product (GDP) registered a growth of 13.1 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022-23, 6.2 percent in the second quarter, 4.5 percent in the third quarter and 6.1 percent in the final quarter.

India’s GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the April-June quarter is higher than the 6.3 percent recorded by China in the same period.

According to National Statistics Office (NSO) data released on Thursday, the gross value added (GVA) of the agriculture sector registered a growth of 3.5 percent against 2.4 percent in the April-June quarter of 2022-23.

The increase in GVA in the financial, real estate and professional services sector was 12.2 percent, up from 8.5 percent in the year-ago quarter.

A growth of 9.2 percent was recorded in the “trade, hotel, transport, communications and services related to the broadcasting sector”, although less than 25.7 percent growth in the same quarter last year.

The GVA of the manufacturing sector also slowed to 4.7 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 6.1 percent in the same period last year.

“Real GDP or GDP at constant prices (2011-2012) is estimated to reach a level in the first quarter of 2023-24 ₹40.37 lakh crore, in comparison ₹37.44 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2022-23, registering a growth of 7.8 per cent as compared to 13.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2022-23,” NSO said in a statement.

It further said that the nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in the first quarter of 2023-24 was estimated at ₹70.67 lakh crore, in comparison ₹65.42 lakh crore in the same period last year, registering a growth of 8 per cent as against 27.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2022-23.

*With agency input