GDP Growth Data For September Quarter To Be Released Today: 10 Things To Know

Edited by Sandeep Singh

29 Nov 2019, 01:15 PM IST

Some economists believe that there may be limited room left for authorities to stimulate growth

Many economists and financial institutions have lowered their growth projections for the September quarter as well as the year ending March 2020.
In a poll conducted by news agency Reuters, economists expect GDP growth to come in at 4.7 per cent in July-September, down from 5.0 per cent in the previous quarter and 7 per cent in the three-month period till September 30, 2018.
If that prediction comes true, it would mean the slowest pace of economic expansion for the country since the quarter ended March 2013. Growth had then stood at 4.3 per cent, official data shows.
A crisis in the country's financial sector marred by piles of bad assets and a credit crunch in the non-banking financial companies (NBFC) sector, multi-year low auto sales and weak industrial production have hampered economic growth.
The government has in the recent past acknowledged the growth slowdown, but exuded confidence that the economy will pick up soon and dismissed the possibility of recession.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has maintained that the fundamentals remain strong and said she's not closing the door on additional steps to support the economy.
India lost its position as the world's fastest-growing major economy last year. The government has set a target of making the country a $5-trillion economy by 2024.
However, some economists believe that there may be limited room left for authorities to stimulate growth.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has so far this year reduced the repo rate - which is the key interest rate at which it lends short-term funds to commercial banks - by 1.35 percentage point to 5.15 per cent.
Consumer inflation - tracked by the RBI primarily for formulating its monetary policy - stood at 4.62 per cent last month, breaching the central bank's medium-term target of 4 per cent for the first time in 15 months amid rising vegetable prices. Still, few economists expect the RBI to deliver another rate cut in its bi-monthly review due next month.