The 7.1 per cent GDP growth for September quarter “seems disappointing”, but growth rate for the first six months of the fiscal is robust and healthy, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Friday.
The government data released on Friday shows India’s economy grew at 7.1 per cent in July-September, lowest in three quarters. The growth was 8.2 per cent in April-June quarter of this fiscal. In January -March quarter the growth was 7.7 per per cent, while it was at 7 per cent in October-December last year.
“GDP growth for second quarter 2018-19 at 7.1 per cent seems disappointing. Manufacturing growth at 7.4 per cent and agriculture growth at 3.8% is steady. Construction at 6.8 per cent and mining at -2.4 per cent reflect monsoon months deceleration,” Garg tweeted.
The growth during April-September stood at 7.6 per cent, which is “quite robust and healthy”, he said. “Still, the highest growth rate in the world”. The second quarter growth of 7.1 per cent keeps India ahead of China, which had expanded at the rate of 6.5 per cent in the July-September period this year.