GDP growth seen at four-year low of 6.5% in 2017-18, dragged by agriculture, manufacturing

New Delhi: The economic growth is expected to slow to a four-year low of 6.5 percent in 2017-18, the lowest under the Modi-led government, mainly due to poor performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 7.1 percent in 2016-17 and 8 percent in the preceding year. It was 7.5 percent in 2014-15. [caption id=“attachment_4036345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image: Reuters[/caption] The Narendra Modi-led NDA government had assumed office in May 2014. “The growth in GDP during 2017-18 is estimated at 6.5 percent as compared to the growth rate of 7.1 percent in 2016-17,” said the Central Statistics Office (CSO) while announcing the first advance estimates of National Income 2017-18. The growth of real Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2017-18 is anticipated at 6.1 percent as against 6.6 percent in the previous year. Economic activities were affected by demonetisation announced on 8 November, 2016 and subsequent implementation of a new indirect tax regime (GST) from 1 July in the current financial year. As per the CSO data, the expansion in activities in ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ is likely to slow to 2.1 percent in the current fiscal from 4.9 percent in the preceding year. The growth in manufacturing sector too is expected to decelerate to 4.6 percent this fiscal, down from 7.9 percent in 2016-17.