MUMBAI, March 1 Reuters India39;s thirdquarter gross domestic product GDP, which rose by a strongerthanexpected 8.4 compared to a year ago, may be overstating growth, economists said, pointing to a more modest increase in gross value added in the economy.

Alongside GDP, the government39;s statistical office releases data for gross value added GVA, which is a measure of total value of goods and services produced in the economy.

GVA is seen as a purer measure of economic growth as the computation of GDP includes indirect taxes and excludes government subsidies.

For the third quarter, GVA grew at 6.5 compared to the 8.4 GDP growth.

The above8 real GDP print should be read with caution given the large gap with GVA, decline in agriculture activity and twopaced economic growth investment far outpacing consumption, Citi economist Samiran Chakraborty said in a note on Thursday.

The gap is likely explained by rising tax collections and a fall in government subsidies during the quarter, they said.

A top government source said on Friday that the divergence was explained by the high cost of fertilisers last year and lower cost of subsidies. They did not want to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media.

The government39;s statistical office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The divergence is at a 10year high, said Neelkanth Mishra, chief economist at Axis Bank.

We don39;t expect divergences of similar magnitude to arise in 202425, said…