(TOI)
India’s GDP or gross domestic product grew 5.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis during the April-June period (Q1), government data showed on Thursday. During the previous quarter (January- March) the GDP had grown by 6.1 per cent.
The GDP growth rate for the same quarter last year was 7.9 per cent. A Reuters poll of 30 economists had predicted a 6.6 per cent growth for India’s GDP in the first quarter.The GDP growth rate has been slowing every quarter since March 2016, when it stood at a whopping 9.1 per cent.Analysts have owed the slowing rate of growth to disruptions in the economy caused by demonetisation and teething problems after the roll out of GST (Goods and Services Tax)
Economists in the Reuters poll said uncertainty over how smoothly Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented remains large and tough to forecast. It was launched on July 1 to harmonise various value-added tax regimes across states in India to one national standard. The present rate of growth means that India is still one of the fastest growing economies in the world, although it still lags behind China which last reported a 6.9 per cent growth rate.
