India’s growth slowest in seven years

India's economic growth slowed to 4.7 per cent in October-December 2019, according to official data released on Friday (28).

This is the slowest in seven years, reports said.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was 5.6 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

However, the finance ministry has claimed that the decline in economic growth has bottomed out.

"We have already bottomed out," said Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty. “The growth in the core sector industries too has witnessed growth during the December and January which "augurs well" for the manufacturing sector during the January-March quarter of the fiscal.

He termed the COVID-19 impacting the global economy as “an unfolding story".

Indian economy grew 5.1 per cent during the nine months (April-December 2019) as against 6.3 per cent in the same period a year ago, data said.

The NSO has pegged the country’s economic growth at 5 per cent in 2019-20 as only one month is left to end this financial year.

India’s central bank also estimated 5 per cent GDP growth for 2019-20.

Meanwhile, the NSO has upwardly revised GDP growth estimates for the first quarter of 2019-20 to 5.6 per cent (from 5 per cent), and for the second quarter to 5.1 per cent (from 4.5 per cent).

China's economic growth was 6 per cent in October-December 2019, which was the weakest expansion in over 27 years.