Eight point two and a decade in the making

When the MoSPI print arrived showing India’s real GDP of 8.2% and nominal GDP of 8.7% in July to September 2025, it was a vindication rather than surprise.

- AMAR PATNAIK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly described the result as reflecting “the impact of our reform driven and people centric approach” and acknowledged that the momentum came from the hard work and rising ambitions of the people.This number is the culmination of a long list of policy choices, not a lucky pop. The secondary and tertiary sectors led the charge. Those sectoral details matter because they show depth not just breadth.

IT IS A COORDINATED ENGINE, NOT A SINGLE-FIRE BURST

The quarter's composition tells the real story. Manufacturing expanded 9.1%, construction 7.2% and services 9.2%. Private final consumption grew by 7.9% compared to the same period last year. Agriculture grew about 3.5%.

When production, building and services rise together, jobs and incomes follow in more places than before. The MOSPI release lays this out clearly.

THE PLUMBING WAS BUILT YEARS AGO

This quarter did not arrive from thin air. Over the last decade the central government sharply raised capital spending and pushed a coordinated infrastructure agenda. The Budget for 2025-26 allocates capital expenditure of over Rs 11.2 lakh crore and provisional capital spending in 2024-25 was about Rs 10.52 lakh crore. Those are big, persistent flows into roads, ports, rail and urban systems that create capacity and lower costs for business. This is public investment that multiplies manifold private activity.