India's Services Export Sees Huge 22.3% Rise In October: RBI Data

India's services exports saw a significant rise in October, growing by 22.3 per cent to reach USD 34.3 billion, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on Friday. This marks the second consecutive month of growth in services exports, following an increase to USD 32.57 billion in September.

Meanwhile, imports also continued to rise, increasing by 27.9 per cent to USD 17.21 billion. The rise in imports is the second consecutive month of growth after a dip in August. The data reflects continued positive momentum in India's external trade activities, particularly in the services sector.

On the other hand, India’s economic growth slowed to a nearly two-year low of 5.4 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal year, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday. The sluggish performance was attributed to weak output in the manufacturing and mining sectors. Despite the deceleration, India retained its position as the fastest-growing large economy, outpacing China’s 4.6 per cent growth during the same period.

The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 8.1 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2023-24. The last time growth fell below this level was in the October-December quarter of FY23 when it stood at 4.3 per cent.

The agriculture sector offered some relief, with its Gross Value Added (GVA) growth accelerating to 3.5 per cent in Q2 FY25, compared to 1.7 per cent a year earlier. However, manufacturing GVA growth slowed to 2.2 per cent from 14.3 per cent in the same quarter last year, while the mining and quarrying sector’s GVA contracted to 0.01 per cent, a sharp decline from the 11.1 per cent growth recorded a year ago.

The financial, real estate, and professional services sectors saw modest improvement, growing by 6.7 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in the same period last year. Meanwhile, electricity, gas, water supply, and other utility services posted slower growth at 3.3 per cent, compared to 10.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

The construction sector grew by 7.7 per cent in Q2 FY25, down from 13.6 per cent in the previous year. The GDP for the April-June quarter of FY25 remained unchanged at 6.7 per cent.

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