New Delhi: The Indian economy has registered a healthy growth rate of 5.7 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal, over and above the 5.3-per cent figure for the corresponding period of 2002-03.

The encouraging aspect of the 5.7-per cent first quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure is that it does not account for the impact of this year's munificent monsoon rainfall.

On the contrary, agriculture growth for April-June 2003 dipped to 1.7 per cent, from the previous year's corresponding level of 2.7 per cent. The 1.7-per cent figure is largely reflective of last year's drought, said to have been the worst in the last three decades.

Since the 2002-03 agricultural year extends from July 2002 to June 2003, the 1.7-per cent growth recorded by the farm sector during April-June 2003 basically captures last year's poor rabi harvest.

According to the agriculture ministry, the output of rabi rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses fell by 30.9, 3.5, 13.2 and 10.2 per cent, respectively. Similarly, oilseeds also registered negative growth rates of 13.7 per cent during the 2002-03 rabi season.