Indian economy pulls ahead of China

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , BANGALORE, INDIA
Friday, Apr 02, 2004,Page 12

India's economy soared 10.4 percent in the final quarter of last year, making it one of the fastest-growing in the world, even ahead of China's.

The last quarter's rise, up from an 8.4 percent pace in the previous quarter, was driven mainly by an expansion of nearly 17 percent in farm output. Last season, the country benefited from the heaviest monsoon rains in over a decade. Farming accounts for a quarter of India's economy.

The Center for Monitoring of the Indian Economy, based in Bombay, said in its monthly review, released on Wednesday, that overall GDP earlier forecast at around 8 percent, would probably be above 9 percent in the government's fiscal year ending last month.

But the jump, which makes India the fastest-growing Asian economy, is unlikely to continue.

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