New Delhi: A massive contraction in manufacturing, agriculture and mining activity pulled India’s GDP growth rate down to 4.5 percent in the second quarter ended September 2019-20.
This is the fifth successive quarter of decline and the slowest GDP growth rate over six years. The growth on a year-on-year basis during Q2 2018-19 had stood at 7 percent.
On a sequential basis, the growth rate came lower than the 5 percent in Q1 of 2019-20, 5.8 percent in Q4 2018-19, 6.6 percent in Q3 2018-19.
At present, India’s economy faces a severe demand slowdown on account of high GST rates, farm distress, stagnant wages, and liquidity constraints.
This trend of subdued consumption referred to as slowdown is being cited by economy watchers as the prime reason for the successive fall in GDP growth rate.
Consequently, all the major sector’s including automobile, capital goods, banks, consumer durables, FMCG and real estate have been heavily battered.
In terms of production, the output of manufacturing, mining, and electricity generation among others has plunged causing job losses.
