Sat Nov 30 03:32:14 UTC 2024: ## India’s GDP Growth Slows to 18-Month Low of 5.4%

**New Delhi, [Date of Publication]** – India’s economic growth slowed significantly in the July-September quarter, falling to a disappointing 5.4%, the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed on Friday. This marks an 18-month low and is considerably lower than the anticipated 6.5% growth predicted by Reuters. The previous quarter saw growth at 6.7%, while the same period last year recorded 8.1%.

Gross Value Added (GVA), a broader measure of economic activity, also underperformed expectations, reaching 5.6% compared to the projected 6.5%. This represents a slowdown from 7.7% year-on-year and 6.8% in the previous quarter.

Sectoral performance was mixed. While agriculture showed improvement (3.5% growth), the mining sector contracted by 0.1%, a sharp reversal from strong growth in previous periods. Manufacturing growth significantly decelerated to 2.2%, and the electricity sector also slowed. Construction grew at 7.7%, but this was lower than previous periods. Positive contributions came from trade, hotels, and transport, and financial, real estate, and professional services. Public administration also performed well.

The weaker-than-expected figures have raised concerns about the sustainability of India’s economic recovery. Analysts point to subdued private consumption and industrial output as key contributing factors.

Sujan Hajra, Chief Economist at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, attributed the lower-than-expected GDP growth to discrepancies in the data. While acknowledging the weakness, he maintained a full-year growth projection of 7%, anticipating stronger growth in the second half of the fiscal year driven by agriculture and government capital expenditure. However, he stressed the need to monitor economic momentum closely. The lower-than-expected growth raises questions about the strength of the Indian economy going forward.

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