India, Aug. 31 -- The National Statistics Office (NSO) released GDP data for the quarter ending June 2026 on Monday. This is the period when the oil shock on account of the ongoing war in West Asia was the worst. Everyone expected growth to slow down in India. Slow down it did; from 8.6% in the quarter ending March 2026, but it is still a bumper 7.8%. How should one read the latest GDP numbers? Three key messages could be drawn.

First, the most obvious and important fact. It is unambiguously good news for the Indian economy and underlines its resilience as far as facing temporary disruptions is concerned. The strong growth performance is rooted in private consumption demand, which is still enjoying multiple tailwinds such as GST and inco...