S P Pandey, New Delhi, 27th February, 2009 :The lower growth numbers come as a major shock for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government which will face national elections soon.
Overall, the growth for the first nine months of the current fiscal has dropped to 6.9 per cent, as opposed to the impressive nine per cent economic expansion in the corresponding period last fiscal, the data showed. The latest growth figures now put a question mark over India being able to log the 7 percent or higher growth in the current fiscal year, as predicted by the government and projected by the central bank.
The fears of a sharp slowdown in India were confirmed, with official data showing economic growth at just 5.3 per cent for the third quarter of the current fiscal the slowest since 2003 against 8.9 per cent in the like period the previous year. The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has dipped from 7.6 per cent for the second quarter and 7.9 per cent for the first quarter, showed statistics released by the Central Statistical Organisation .
What has come as a major cause for worry is the 2.2 per cent decline in farm output and 0.2 per cent drop in manufacturing, even as construction logged a much lower growth of 6.7 per cent in the quarter under review. Economic activities that registered reasonable growth in the third quarter were mining (5.3 per cent), hospitality, transport and communications (6.8 per cent), banking, insurance and realty (9.5 per cent) and government services (17.3 per cent).
DK Joshi, Principal Economist, Credit Rating Information Services of India said that one of the reasons for the decline is the slide in agriculture. A negative 2.2 per cent does have an impact and yet, one must not forget that the decline is on a very high base of nearly seven per cent last year. He also added that all sectors have shown weakness, but manufacturing has a greater impact because of its overall weight.
Joshi predicted that the Indian economy would grow at between 6.5 per cent and seven per cent this fiscal. "Closer to 6.5 per cent, I would say."
i think this another scam like the satyam ghotala. why people like to show off what they are not?