In signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general elections, GDP growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand, Government data showed on Thursday.
Also, economic growth estimate for the current fiscal year ending March 31 has been revised downwards to 7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.2 per cent. This is the lowest growth in the last five years.
However, the Q3 growth rate, which was lower than the revised estimate of 7 per cent in the previous quarter and 8 per cent in April-June, was faster than China’s 6.4 per cent growth for the three months to December 2018. India thus retains its tag of the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
