India's Q2 GDP figures show it's back on the high-growth path

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made economic growth in Asia's third-largest economy his priority, would have reason to be satisfied with a 7.4 per cent annual growth rate in the second quarter of the financial year which started in April.

The GDP (gross domestic product) growth figure beat analysts' consensus forecasts and also tops Q1's growth of 7 per cent. This makes India the fastest-growing major economy in the world, outstripping China's 6.9 per cent second-quarter GDP growth.

Investments in India grew 6.8 per cent from a year earlier, compared with 4.9 per cent in the April-June quarter. However, private consumption growth slowed to 6.8 per cent year-on-year, from the first quarter's 7.4 per cent. India's central bank kept the benchmark repurchase rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent on Tuesday while keeping the door open for more easing, depending on the economy meeting the inflation target over the next two years.