India's GDP Drops To 4.5 Per Cent In Second Quarter, Lowest In More Than Six Years

India's economic growth in the second quarter slipped to the lowest in more than six years, according to the official data released on Friday. The country's GDP grew at 4.5 per cent in the second quarter as compared to the 5 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year. The previous low was recorded at 4.3 per cent in the January-March period of 2012-13 during the UPA rule.

During the six-month period (April-September 2019), the Indian economy grew 4.8 per cent as against 7.5 per cent in the same period a year ago. The Reserve Bank had lowered the GDP growth projection for 2019-20 to 6.1 per cent from earlier forecast of 6.9 per cent.

Output of eight core infrastructure industries also contracted by 5.8 per cent in October, indicating the severity of economic slowdown. As many as six of eight core industries saw a contraction in output in October. Coal production fell steeply by 17.6 per cent, crude oil by 5.1 per cent, and natural gas by 5.7 per cent.

Also Read | Growth Down, But There Won't Be Any Recession, Says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Production of cement (- 7.7 per cent), steel (- 1.6 per cent), and electricity (- 12.4 per cent) also declined during the month. The only sector that posted growth in October was fertilizers where production increased by 11.8 per cent year-on-year. Growth in output of refinery products slowed down to 0.4 per cent in October as against 1.3 per cent in the same period last year. The eight core sectors had expanded by 4.8 per cent in October 2018.

Ahead of the release of GDP figure, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had Wednesday admitted that the economic growth of the country has decreased during their tenure but assured there won’t be any recession. "If you are looking at the economy with a discerning view, you see that growth may have come down but it is not a recession yet, it will not be a recession ever," Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha.

(With PTI inputs)