India’s economic growth accelerated to more than 8% in the final three months of last year, beating all forecasts by economists just months before an election.
Gross domestic product rose 8.4% from a year ago, the Statistics Ministry said Thursday, buoyed by strong private-sector investment and a pick-up in services spending. GDP figures for the previous two quarter’s were revised to above 8% as well.
The government now predicts growth will reach 7.6% in the fiscal year through March, higher than an earlier projection of 7.3%, keeping India on track to remain the fastest-expanding major economy in the world. That’s buoyed sentiment in the nation’s stock market and gives Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a boost as he contests elections likely to kick off in April.