The latest GDP numbers for the past quarter (April-June Q1) at 7.8 per cent look punchy and respectable. It is faster than the 6.9 per cent growth recorded in the same period last year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “Herculean feat” achieved despite global uncertainties.

GDP, or gross domestic product, is the total value of all goods and services produced in the country. When it grows at 7.8 per cent, it means this should lead to more jobs, better wages, and improved living standards. However, GDP is an average. Just as a handful of very rich people can raise the “average income” of a neighbourhood without most residents becoming richer, a few booming........

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