Manufacturing is king. Who else ahead in GDP estimates after base year change?

India's GDP growth in the October-December quarter of 2025-26 stood at 7.8%.

India’s GDP growth in the October-December quarter of FY26 stood at 7.8 per cent. The GDP growth rate in the July-September quarter was 8.4 per cent.

Among major economic sectors, manufacturing recorded the highest annual growth rate of 13.3 per cent in the third quarter of FY26, followed by 11.2 per cent growth in financial and real estate, 11 per cent growth in trade and hotels, and 6.6 per cent growth in construction. Agriculture grew at only 1.4 per cent in Q3.

The manufacturing sector, according to the Centre, has been the major driver in contributing to the “resilient performance of the economy in three consecutive financial years after rebasing,” attaining double-digit growth rates in FY24 and FY26. India’s real GDP has also been estimated to grow by 7.6 per cent in FY26, against 7.1 per cent in the previous year.

It is also the first time that the GDP estimates are based on the new base year 2022–23. Even as the government intends to revise the base year every five years, the base year so far has not changed since 2011–12.

The Centre said that the chosen year must be a “normal” year, which means there should not be major economic shocks or unusual events in that year so that it reflects the real state of the economy.

It added that other years between 2017–18 and 2021–22 could not be used because of events like the GST rollout, the Covid-19 pandemic, etc., and hence required time for consolidation.