Growth slowdown due to local, global factors; govt taking steps to revive economy: CEA KV Subramanian

New Delhi: Attributing the slowdown in GDP growth to domestic and global factors, Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian on Friday said the government is taking various steps to boost economic expansion. The gross domestic product (GDP) data released by the National Statistical Office earlier on Friday showed that growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal slipped to an over six-year low of 5 percent. “The slowdown in growth is due to endogenous and exogenous factors,” Subramanian said while commenting on the data. [caption id=“attachment_6934291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian. PTI [/caption] He said the government is taking all steps to revive the economy and expressed confidence that the country would be on a high-growth path “very soon”. The government remains committed to its fiscal glide path, he added. “The government is alive to the situation and has taken several measures including mega-merger of banks (announced during the day),” he emphasised. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced the merger of 10 public sector banks into four, thus bringing down the number of state-run lenders to 12 from 27 in 2017. Besides this, the minister had announced a slew of measures last week, including steps to increase liquidity in the critical NBFC sector.