India's GDP growth rate for the third quarter ended December 2015 was 7.3 percent, according to estimates released by the government on Monday.
The full-year growth has been projected at 7.6 percent, higher than the revised 2014-2015 growth rate of 7.2 percent announced on 29 January, 2016, the statement released by the Central Statistics Office said.
The December quarter growth rate puts India ahead of China which grew at 6.8 percent during the three-month period.
The 2015-2016 annual estimate issued on Monday is slightly higher than the revised forecast of 7 percent to 7.5 percent made by the government in its mid-year economic review released in December last year.
The manufacturing sector grew at 12.6 percent; mining and quarrying at 6.5 percent; construction at 4 percent and financial services at 9.9 percent, while agriculture saw a decline of 1 percent.
The government also revised the first and second quarter GDP estimates. The revised June quarter growth rate is 7.6 percent, up from the earlier 7.1 percent, while the September quarter rate has been raised from 7.4 percent to 7.7 percent.
The government will be presenting its 2016 general budget on 29 February.
The GDP estimates were released after trading hours. Both the benchmark indices - the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty - ended the day with losses. While the Sensex was down 329 points, or 1.34 percent to close at 24,287, the Nifty settled at 7,387, a loss of 102 points, or 1.36 percent.
The rise in bank stocks was due to the government's move to put import restrictions on about 170 steel products to boost the domestic steel sector.
India is the third-largest steel producing country in the world, after China and Japan.
