India’s economy expanded 7.8% in the first quarter (April–June) of the current financial year, faster than the same quarter a year earlier though slower than the preceding quarter. Official data credited the manufacturing sector along with broad services categories — utilities, financial services, real estate, IT, and public administration and defence — for driving the stronger year-on-year performance.
Industrial output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew 6.7% in July 2026, easing from the earlier pace. Economists flagged sluggish rural consumption as a worry. Even so, it was the IIP’s second-best growth since December 2025, supported by the manufacturing sector and the electricity and gas supply segment.
The HinduGrowth in India’s core sector industries slowed to 5.4% in July 2026, per the Index of Core Industries released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Despite the deceleration, it was still the second-fastest expansion recorded in seven months, indicating that infrastructure-linked output held up even as the pace eased from earlier in the year.
The HinduThe government’s ethanol blending programme, which has taken petrol to 20% ethanol content (E20), saved around ₹2 lakh crore in foreign exchange, it told the Lok Sabha in August. The push has drawn opposition: leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal have campaigned against E20, arguing it damages vehicles and is being forced on consumers.
The HinduIndia’s current account deficit widened marginally in the April–June quarter compared with a year earlier, the Reserve Bank of India reported. The RBI attributed the wider gap to higher commodity prices and a larger trade deficit. The current account records a country’s trade in goods and services and net transfers with the rest of the world.
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