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India's economic growth picked up in July-September, outpacing China on improving domestic demand and manufacturing activity, and the acceleration could persuade the country's central bank to keep interest rates unchanged at its Tuesday meeting.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to hold rates steady after a sharper-than-expected 50 basis point cut at its last meeting, as it looks to control price rises ahead of a tighter 2016 inflation target. Asia's third-largest economy expanded by a 7.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter of the 2015/16 financial year that ends in March, compared with 7 percent in April-June, the Statistics Ministry said on Monday. China reported annual growth of 6.9 percent for the three months ended Sept. 30.

In the second quarter, investments grew 6.8 percent from a year earlier, compared with 4.9 percent in April-June. The government has front-loaded its budget spending, boosting investment in infrastructure to stimulate economic growth and complement private investment. A drought in parts of the country for the second straight year has hurt farm output and rural wages, in turn hitting rural demand for farm machinery like tractors as well as consumer goods. Private consumption growth slowed to 6.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter from the first quarter's 7.4 percent.

A hike of over 23 percent in the incomes of near 10 million government employees and pensioners from January could further boost consumer spending. Although India's headline growth rate looks impressive, it is partly the result of changes to statistical methods that seek to capture more evidence of economic activity. Other barometers such as bank credit growth, jobs and consumer demand paint a less healthy picture, analysts say. While most emerging economies, from Brazil to Russia, are struggling amid global headwinds and China's slowdown, India remains a bright spot due to its divergent economy and windfall gains from a plunge in commodity prices. Sharp falls in the cost of oil and gold imports are reducing the trade deficit and giving a net boost to economic activity. Manufacturing, which accounts for about 18 percent of the economy, grew 9.3 percent in the second quarter year-on-year, compared with 7.2 percent in the previous quarter.