India’s economic growth slowed to 5.4% in the July-september quarter of FY2024, the lowest in nearly two years. This is a sharp drop from 8.1% growth during the same period last year, according to official data released on Friday.
Despite the slowdown, India remain the fastest-growing major economy, outpacing China’4.6% GDP growth for the same quarter.
The last time GDP growth was this low was in the October-December quarter of FY2023, when it fell to 4.3%.
Sector-wise, agriculture saw growth rise to 3.5% in Q2 FY2024, up from 1.7% in the same quarter last year. However, manufacturing growth dropped significantly to 2.2%, down from 14.3% in the previous year, becoming the main factor behind the slowdown.
In the first half of FY2024 (APril-September), India’s GDP growth was 6%, lower than 8.2% during the same period last year. The growth for the April-June quarter was confirmed at 6.7%, unchanged from earlier estimates.
Shashi Rai
