India Maintains Lead as Fastest-Growing Economy for Fourth Consecutive Year: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Pratiksha Ghosh 

May 30,2025:

On Friday ,Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India has continued to uphold its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy for the fourth year running, even as overall growth moderated in FY25.

Despite a strong showing in the fourth quarter, where GDP expanded by 7.4%, India's economy recorded an annual growth rate of 6.5% for the fiscal year 2024-25 ,the slowest since the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks a notable drop from the 9.2% growth witnessed in FY24.

Speaking about the quarterly performance, Sitharaman has also highlighted robust manufacturing activity in the January–March 2025 period. 

According to the latest estimates from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Indian economy grew at 6.4% in Q3 (October–December 2024), 5.6% in Q2 (July–September 2024), and 6.5% in Q1 (April–June 2024).

In comparison, the GDP had seen a sharper rise of 8.4% during the same quarter (January–March) in the previous fiscal year, 2023-24.

The NSO’s second advance estimate released in February pegged the overall GDP growth for FY25 at 6.5%, with real GDP (at constant prices) expected to reach ₹187.97 lakh crore — up from ₹176.51 lakh crore in FY24.