How to read today’s GDP numbers?

Rural wages, which are a bellwether for blue-collar employment, had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels until August, the latest period for which data is available.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release GDP data for the July-September quarter of the current fiscal year today. In its October meeting, the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee projected a GDP growth of 7.9% for this period. A Bloomberg forecast of 14 economists has projected the number to be 8.1%. The headline number aside, how should one read today’s GDP numbers? Here are five charts that answer this question.

India’s GDP fell by a record 7.3% in 2020-21. This was largely on account of the massive contraction in the first half (April-September) in 2020-21(MINT_PRINT)