GDP growth slows to nearly 7-year low at 4.7% in Q3 on poor performance by manufacturing, construction sectors

India’s economic growth slowed to 4.7 percent during the October-December quarter of 2019-20 as against 5.6 percent during the corresponding period the previous year on poor performance by manufacturing, electricity, construction sectors, according to official data released on Friday.

#Breaking | GDP growth for Q3 FY20 at 4.7% Vs CNBC-TV18 poll of 4.6% #GDP #Growth #GDPGrowth #Macroeconomy #MacroData #EconomicData #EcoData pic.twitter.com/90ISJkAIBg

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 28, 2020

“GDP at Constant (2011-12) prices in Q3 of 2019-20 is estimated at Rs 36.65 lakh crore, as against Rs 35 lakh crore in Q3 of 2018-19, showing a growth rate of 4.7 percent,” the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in a statement. During the nine-month period (April-December 2019), the Indian economy grew 5.1 percent as against 6.3 percent in the same period a year ago. [caption id=“attachment_5154751” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2019-20 was revised to 5.6 percent, and for the second quarter to 5.1 percent. The NSO has pegged economic growth at 5 percent in 2019-20 in its second advance estimates released on Friday, the same as its estimates last month. Quarterly GVA at Constant (2011-2012) prices for Q3 of 2019-20 is estimated at Rs 33.51 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.07 lakh crore in Q3 of 2018-19, showing a growth rate of 4.5 percent over the corresponding quarter the previous year. Growth in the manufacturing sector contracted by 0.2 percent during the third quarter as against 5.2 percent rise during the same period the previous year. The electricity sector witnessed a 0.7 percent decline in the October-December quarter of FY20 as against 9.5 percent growth during the year-ago quarter. While growth in the construction sector stood at 0.3 percent in the third quarter as compared to 6.6 percent in the corresponding period the previous year. The sectors that showed improvement in the third quarter include agriculture (3.5 percent from 2 percent in the same period last year) and mining (3.2 percent from -4.4 percent). The Reserve Bank had also estimated 5 percent GDP growth for 2019-20. China’s economic growth was 6 percent in October-December 2019, which was the weakest expansion in over 27 years. China’s economic growth was 6.1 percent in 2019 (calendar year), the slowest in about three decades. In the July-September quarter of 2019-20,  economic growth had dropped to a six-and-half-year (26-quarter) low at 4.5 percent due to a sharp deceleration in the manufacturing, agriculture, construction sector. On Wednesday, economists at SBI had said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth would stay flat at 4.5 percent in the October-December 2019. They also said that India faces the risk of getting impacted by coronavirus epidemic economically because of its high reliance on Chinese imports for various goods. The GDP growth is set to slip to a decadal low of 5 percent in 2019-20, driven majorly by a fall in domestic consumption and sluggish world markets that have impacted Indian exports. The SBI economists revised up their FY2019-20 growth estimate to 4.7 percent from the earlier estimate of 4.6 percent because of the base effect triggered by a downward revision in the FY2018-19 growth number by the government. On 25 February, a Reuters poll had showed that the country’s economic growth likely accelerated a touch in the October-December period after its weakest expansion in over six years in the previous quarter with a small rebound in rural demand and private consumption expected. Annual GDP growth likely rose to 4.7 percent in the last quarter of 2019 from 4.5 percent the previous quarter, when the growth rate appears to have bottomed out, an 18-24 February Reuters poll found. — With inputs from agencies