BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  AUGUST 30, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday constituted a 3-member panel to inquire into the reasons behind the landslide on Vaishno Devi route CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Robust govt spending boosts Q1 growth India, Japan unveil 10-yr economic roadmap GDP grows 7.8%, beats estimates Real GDP at `47.89 lakh crore In absolute terms, the real GDP for Q1 of 2025-26 is estimated at `47.89 lakh crore, up from `44.42 lakh crore in the same quarter last year. The nominal GDP for the quarter stands at `86.05 lakh crore, up 8.8% After seeing the resilience of Q1 growth, we are retaining the growth rate projections for current fiscal at 6.3-6.8% V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi AMID unprecedented global uncertainties precipitated by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, India’s GDP grew to a 5-month high of 7.8% in the April-June quarter, beating all estimates and surprising many . Most analysts had expected India’s growth to come in below 7% during the period. Even the RBI projection for the first quarter was a moderate 6.5%, which showed the spectacular resilience of the Indian economy . The strong performance was driven by a buoyant services sector, which registered a substantial real GVA (gross value added) growth of 9.3%, and the manufacturing sector, which grew 7.7% during the quarter. Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the growth was broad-based. “Agriculture GVA rose 3.7%, which is usually expected to be modest in this quarter. Manufacturing expanded by 7.7%, while services also recorded strong growth, consistent with robust PMI services readings in recent months,” he said. Both manufacturing and construction sectors demonstrated robust 15 CRESTS AND TROUGHS 13.5% 12 9 6 3 6.9% 6% growth, with GVA rates of 7.7% and 7.6%, respectively. The agriculture and allied sector also showed healthy improvement, rising to 3.7% from 1.5%. Private consumption grew 7%, lower than 8.3% a year ago but still strong. The CEA said rural consumption had held up well. “We would even argue that urban consumption hasn’t been as weak as some indicators suggest. Rural consumption has been supported by sharply rising real wages in agriculture,” he said. Government spending provided a boost, with final consumption expenditure rising 7.4% during the quarter. Gross Fixed Capital For mation (GFCF)—spending on infrastructure and asset creation—rose 7.8%, higher than 6.7% in Q1 FY25. Economists attribute the Q1 growth to front-loaded government spending and a surge in exports to the US, which grew 22% during the three-month period. The Q1 GDP numbers were for the period before Trump imposed tariffs on Indian goods. Analysts fear GDP data for the second quarter may take a hit with the impact of the US tariffs on Indian goods factored in. 9.7% 9.3% 9.5% 4.8% 5.6% 8.4% Q2 Q3 2022-2023 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2023-2024 Q4 7.8% 6.4% 6.5% Q1 7.4% Q1 Q2 Q3 2024-2025 Q4 Q1 FY26 Reliance to partner with Meta, Google to bring affordable AI solutions to Indian consumers R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi Prime ministers Narendra Modi and Shigeru Ishiba | PTI WORLD COUNTING ON INDIA, SAYS MODI IN JAPAN J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi AMID a shifting global trade landscape, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday used his first foreign visit since the US imposed sweeping 50% tariffs on key Indian imports to deliver a clear message from Tokyo: the world is counting on India. “The world is not just watching India. It is counting on India,” Modi said, addressing top business leaders at the China ties India-Japan Economic Forum alongside his to stabilise Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba. India economic and Japan unveiled a 10-year economic roadorder: PM map aimed at long-term stability, strategic cooperation, and mutual resilience. Its center- Given the piece is to secure critical supply chains, volatility in the expand AI and digital cooperation, and deep- world economy, it is important ening private sector investment. Japan committed to mobilsing 10 trillion for India and yen (approximately $68 billion) in private in- China to work vestment in India over the next decade — a together to move widely seen as a vote of confidence in bring stability India’s economic trajectory at a time of global to the world economic order, realignment. “We have laid a strong foundation for a new Modi said | P7 and golden chapter in our Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” Modi said. “This roadmap aligns with the priorities of both nations and meets the challenges of a changing world.” The summit launched the India-Japan Economic Security Cooperation Initiative, aimed at a “whole-ofnation” approach to bolster strategic sectors like semiconducP7 tors, rare earths, clean energy, AI, telecom, and biotech. UNVEILING its mega plans for the artificial intelligence space, India’s largest conglomerate Reliance Industries on Friday announced a wholly owned subsidiary Reliance , Intelligence, to bring AI solutions for users in India and select international markets. RIL will also join hands with global tech giants Meta and Google to bring cutting-edge AI tools to India. Reliance Intelligence will build gigawatt-scale, AI-ready data centres, powered by green energy and engineered for training and inference at a national scale. Also on the cards is a joint venture with US firm Meta to build and scale enterprise AI solutions for businesses, with an initial joint investment of `860 crore ($100 million), with Reliance holding a 70% stake and Meta holding 30%. Announcing the details on Friday, RIL’s chairman and managing direc- Jio listing next year Jio Platforms, the entity that houses Reliance Industries’ telecom and digital businesses, is gearing up for an initial public offering and stock market listing in the first half of 2026 | P10 tor Mukesh Ambani said partnering with Meta fulfils the firm’s vision of providing AI to every Indian and enterprise by combining Meta’s most widely adopted open source Llama models with our deep expertise across multiple industries. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. RIL also announced expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud. Reliance will build a modern cloud data centre in Jamnagar, along with associated network infrastructure. The facility will meet Google Cloud’s global technical specifications and standards, making it capable of handling advanced AI workloads. EXPRESS READ Birla rues declining standards of debate Bhubaneswar: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed concern over the declining standards of debate, dialogue, language and decorum in the parliament and state legislatures. He urged the lawmakers of the country to rise above party lines on issues of national interest | P3 Eight killed as massive cloudbursts rock U’khand Dehradun: A series of devastating cloudbursts rocked Uttarakhand between Thursday night and Friday morning, claiming eight lives and leaving over a dozen people missing across Garhwal and Kumaon. The natural calamities were exacerbated by incessant rains | P8