Q3 GDP data substantially impacted by demonetisation: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the Q3 GDP data substantially impacted by demonetisation.

Stating that Indian economic growth is likely to pick up further in coming quarters, GDP number belies exaggerated claim by many that rural sector was in distress, FM added.

Remonetisation is up substantially and its combination with economic resilience has shown some signs of return of growth, he said.

The government yesterday pegged GDP growth at a higher-than-expected 7.1 percent for the current fiscal despite note ban with agriculture sector doing exceptionally well, helping India retain the tag of world's fastest growing major economy.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) put the growth rate for October-December -- the quarter in which the government banned 86 percent of the currency in circulation -- at 7 percent, compared to 7.4 percent in the second quarter and 7.2 percent in the first quarter.

The growth rate was on a higher base after the CSO revised 2015-16 GDP growth rate to 7.9 percent from the earlier provisional estimate of 7.6 percent.

India's growth was higher than China's 6.8 percent for the October-December period of 2016.