New Delhi, Aug. 31 -- India's economic growth in the first quarter of FY2025-26 came as a big surprise. The economy clocked a five-quarter high growth of 7.8%, defying expectations of a slowdown.

Mint looks at the numbers closely to explain the sudden jump in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, positive and warning signs they throw up and what the future outlook is like.

Such a high growth rate was not expected. The Reserve Bank of India had projected only a 6.5% growth, and a poll of 22 economists by Mint indicated a 6.7% expansion of the economy in the first quarter.

The surprise was caused by low inflation, which gave a technical boost to the calculation of real GDP growth. To arrive at the real GDP growth, the nominal GDP is adjus...