India's GDP growth in FY 2025-26 reflects resilience but masks sectoral asymmetry.

Q. India's GDP growth in FY 2025-26 reflects resilience but masks sectoral asymmetry. (15 marks, 250 words)

The Provisional Estimates released by the NSO (MoSPI) peg India's real GDP growth at 7.7% for FY 2025-26 — the fastest in two years and an upgrade over the 7.4% First Advance Estimate — even as West Asian tensions and a global slowdown persisted [1][2]. Yet headline buoyancy conceals uneven sectoral performance.

Resilience — the strengths - Robust real growth of 7.7% with Q4 at 7.8%, sustained despite external shocks — strengthening India's "fastest-growing major economy" standing at IMF/G20 forums [1]. - Real GVA up 7.9% and nominal GDP at 8.9%; a narrow deflator (~1.2%) signals price stability alongside expansion [1]. - Data credibility reinforced by the rebased 2022-23 series, improving measurement of the formal economy [3]. - Manufacturing and financial/real-estate services achieved double-digit growth, reflecting a live capex cycle [1].

Asymmetry — the fault lines - Agriculture & allied grew only ~3.1%, restraining rural incomes, raising MGNREGS dependence and food-inflation risk [2]. - Growth remains services-led (financial/professional + public administration ~9.9%), a narrow base that limits mass job creation [2]. - Electricity, gas and utilities lagged (~2.1%), exposing infrastructure-supply gaps [2]. - Aggregate figures obscure this primary-vs-tertiary divergence, risking jobless, K-shaped growth.

Thus, FY26 confirms macroeconomic resilience but a lopsided growth engine. Sustaining it demands reviving agriculture through the doubling-farmer-income agenda, deepening manufacturing under PLI, and broad-basing employment — aligning growth with SDG-8 (inclusive, decent work) so resilience translates into structural transformation.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. MoSPI — Press Note on Provisional Estimates of GDP for Q4 & FY 2025-26 (5 Jun 2026) — real GDP 7.7%, Q4 7.8%, nominal 8.9%, GVA 7.9%, double-digit manufacturing/finance 2. MoSPI — Press Note on First Advance Estimates of GDP 2025-26 — agriculture 3.1%, utilities 2.1%, services-led GVA 7.3% 3. PIB — New Series of GDP Estimates with Base Year 2022-23 — rebasing to 2022-23 series