(Livemint)
The Indian economy is not showing signs of bottoming out. Growth in the September quarter slowed for the sixth consecutive time to 4.5%, the lowest since March 2013, as manufacturing output contracted, according to data released on Friday.
The fall in the GDP growth rate from 5% in the previous quarter will likely ratchet up the clamour for a fiscal stimulus. The persistent slowdown may also force the Reserve Bank of India to go in for another round of interest rate cuts at its monetary policy review meeting on 5 December. In comparison, China’s GDP growth slowed to 6% in the September quarter, the weakest quarterly growth since 1992, down from 6.2% in the previous quarter.
Data released by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade, ministry of commerce and industry, showed that the core sector, which comprises eight infrastructure industries, contracted by 5.8% in October, the second consecutive month of contraction, signalling the worst may not be over for the manufacturing sector.
