Economic Growth For Last Quarter May Touch Below 5%, Economists Predict

For the quarter that ended September, the growth is being predicted between 4.2 per cent to 4.7 per cent according to economists at State Bank of India, Nomura Holdings Inc. and Capital Economics Ltd.

New Delhi: At a time when the country is battling with the economic slump, economists have further lowered the growth of India’s economy, with forecasts showing expansion below 5 per cent last quarter.

For the quarter that ended September, the growth is being predicted between 4.2 per cent to 4.7 per cent according to economists at State Bank of India, Nomura Holdings Inc. and Capital Economics Ltd, a report by Bloomberg said.

The date will be published by the government on November 29.

“High-frequency indicators have plunged and domestic credit conditions remain tight amid weak global demand,” Bloomberg quoted Sonal Varma, chief economist for India and Asia at Nomura in Singapore as saying.

Last week, Moody’s Investors Service slashed India’s economic growth forecast to 5.6 per cent for 2019, saying government measures do not address the widespread weakness in consumption demand. “We have revised down our growth forecast for India. We now forecast slower real GDP growth of 5.6 per cent in 2019, from 7.4 per cent in 2018,” it said. “India’s economic slowdown is lasting longer than previously expected.”

The Modi government has undertaken a number of measures to arrest the growth slowdown. In September, it announced a cut in the corporate tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent. It also lowered the tax rate for new manufacturing companies to 15 per cent to attract new foreign direct investments.

The government’s other initiatives include bank recapitalization, the mergers of 10 public sector banks into four, support for the auto sector, plans for infrastructure spending, as well as tax benefits for startups.

To boost growth, the Reserve Bank of India has also cut interest rates five times this year.

(With agency inputs)