GDP growth slips to 5.8 per cent in Q4, lowest pace in 2 years

India's economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8 per cent in January-March 2018-19, due to poor performance in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data released Friday said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) also revealed that GDP growth during 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8 per cent, lower than 7.2 per cent in the previous financial year.

The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was slowest since 2014-15. The previous low was 6.4 per cent in 2013-14. The fourth quarter growth was below China's 6.4 per cent. The official data also states that India's unemployment rate rises to 45-year high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18.

The growth of eight core infrastructure sectors also slowed down to 2.6 per cent in April, due to negative growth in crude oil, natural gas and fertiliser output. During April 2018, the expansion rate of eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- stood at 4.7 per cent.

Coal generation growth was flat at 2.8 pet cent in April 2019, said the government data. The output of electricity and refinery products was 5.8 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.

Crude oil, natural gas, and fertilizers sectors posted decline in growth during the month. The infrastructure sector growth has impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.