India outperforms other major economies even as growth slows in April-June

India's ecomic growth slowed to 6.7 per cent year-on-year in April-June quarter as a decline in government spending during national elections weighed, data showed on Friday, but it remained world's fastest-growing major ecomy.

rise in gross domestic product was less than a 6.9 per cent expansion forecast by a Reuters poll, and compared to 7.8 per cent growth in previous quarter.

Still, it was faster than China's growth of 4.7 per cent in April-June, Asia's biggest ecomy, and slowdown in India is expected to be temporary as ecomists forecast that easing inflation and a pickup in government spending will shore up growth in coming months.

Political uncertainty also weighed on investment and consumption during April-June quarter, official data showed. However, Gross Value ded (GVA), seen by ecomists as a more stable measure of growth, increased by 6.8 per cent in April-June from a year earlier, compared to 6.3 per cent in previous quarter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several steps to boost ecomy since recent electoral national elections, in which his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win an outright majority and is having to rely on allies to run government for first time in a dece.

Manufacturing, which makes up about 17 per cent of India's GDP, grew by 7 per cent year-on-year in April-June quarter, compared to an 8.9 per cent expansion in previous quarter.

Agricultural output rose 2 per cent year on year in same period, up from 1.1 per cent in previous quarter. Plentiful rainfall this year is expected to enhance farm output, rural incomes and consumer demand, a trend reflected in increased sales of two-wheelers and tractors in July.