India's GDP grows at 7.7% in quarter of 2017-18: Piyush Goyal

However, the economic growth slows to 6.7 per cent in 2017-18 compared to 7.1 per cent in 2016-17.

Forecasts for January-March ranged from 6.9 to 7.7 per cent. "But if one breaks the numbers a little, a lot of it is essentially being driven by public expenditure", Pronab Sen, former chief statistician of India, said.

Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating firm on Wednesday estimated a 7.3 per cent growth in Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the year 2018, thereby cutting it down from a previously projected 7.5 per cent.

The economy has been slowly getting back on its feet however, recording quarterly growth of 6.5 percent for the three months to September 2017 before the Q3 figures of 7.2 percent in February.

The "agriculture, forestry and fishing" sector showed a growth rate of 3.4 per cent as against the previous year's growth rate of 6.3 per cent, while the growth in the "manufacturing" sector was estimated at 5.7 per cent as against the previous year's growth rate of 7.9 per cent. For 2017-2018 it projected the economy to grow at 6.7 per cen. The sharp uptick in the construction GVA growth in Q4 FY2018 benefited from the trend in its inputs, such as cement and steel consumption, and activity in the infrastructure sector (including affordable housing), even as real estate and industrial capex is yet to pick up and consumer sentiment is yet to recover appreciably.

India's growth performance in the third quarter and fourth quarter implies that these shocks have worn off considerably, stated ANZ.

The data, combined with April's higher annual inflation pace of 4.58 per cent, could put pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to raise interest rates next week after keeping them on hold for a fourth straight meeting last month.

Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, who also present at the press meet, said "the impact of GST is behind us". There have been various quarters and years when oil prices have gone up but there has been growth also.

The almost $1.7 trillion formal banking sector, which is coping with non-performing assets (NPAs) and emergence of fraud scandals, is worry point in the economy.

"As a crude importer, higher oil prices are negative, but we don't expect a significant downturn in the economy".

For oil-importing India, the combination of a weaker currency and surging oil prices is a threat not only for the current-account deficit, but also inflation. "A re-escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China is another risk factor to growth", he said. However, rising oil prices and depreciating rupee remain key risks to watchout for in the near term.