MUMBAI: India’s economic growth slowed to 6.7 percent on-year in the April-June quarter, official data showed Friday, as lower government outlays and lacklustre consumer spending weighed on the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Friday’s reading still places the world’s most populous country among the fastest-growing major economies globally.
But the figure is unwelcome news for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party suffered the surprise loss of its parliamentary majority after elections in June.
It may also put pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates after holding them steady at 6.50 percent for more than 18 months.
Year-on-year gross domestic product grew at its slowest pace in five quarters and came in below the Indian central bank’s estimate of 7.1 percent.
The Indian economy had expanded to 7.8 percent on-year in the previous March quarter. Experts say the pace of growth slowed in part due to sluggish government capital expenditure.
Businesses have also blamed protracted summer heatwaves in parts of the country for hampering store footfalls and urban consumption.
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