By Admin 
RBI GDP Growth Forecast: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday increased the estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the first and second quarter of the next financial year (2026-27) to 6.9 and 7 percent respectively in view of trade agreements, GST rationalization and strong agricultural production.
In December, the RBI had estimated real GDP (gross domestic product) growth at 6.7 percent for the April-June quarter of 2026-27 and 6.8 percent for July-September. Estimates for the entire financial year 2026-27 will be announced in the next monetary policy in April. In which the new GDP and Consumer Price Index (CPI) series will be included with the updated base year (2024).
Statement of RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra
Announcing the monetary policy, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, the Indian economy continues to be on a positive path and is expected to register a significant growth of 7.4 per cent of real GDP in 2025-26. Which is much more than last year. Private consumption and stable investment supported growth amid global challenges.
He said that economic activity is expected to remain strong in 2026-27. Agricultural activities will be supported by healthy reservoir levels, strong Rabi sowing and improvement in crop conditions. Apart from this, improving performance of the corporate sector and momentum in the unorganized sector will boost manufacturing activities.
Service sector will remain strong
He said that the growth of the construction sector is expected to remain strong and with the strengthening of domestic demand, the services sector will also remain strong. On the demand side, the Governor said that the pace of private consumption is expected to maintain in 2026-27, while rural demand will remain stable.
He said the continued support of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalization and accommodative monetary policy will improve urban consumption. “High capacity utilisation, accelerating bank credit growth, favorable financial conditions and the government’s continued focus on infrastructure will encourage investment activities,” Malhotra said.
Said this on FTA
The Governor said the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the proposed India-US trade agreement along with several other trade agreements will support exports in the medium term. Additionally, several measures announced in the Union Budget are also likely to be growth-friendly.
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