Indians produced Rs25,95,339 crore worth of goods and services in 2005-06 — an 8.4 per cent increase over last year. And they got richer as well: per capita income is now Rs25,825 as against Rs23,222 last year.

This is the second time in three years that the economy has had a date with eight: it grew 8.5 per cent in 2003-04. Much of this was because farmers produced more: the agriculture sector grew 3.9 per cent in 2005-06 — an unexpected turnaround indeed.

But that is not all. More residential and commercial buildings are being constructed, and people are spending more on goods and transport, eating out and talking non-stop on the phone. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure surprised many. “I’m shell-shocked,� said Rajiv Kumar, director, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. “But it’s nice to be in the China league.� China has been growing at 9 per cent for several years now.

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