New Delhi : The Indian economy grew at the slowest pace in over two years at 6.9 percent in the quarter ended September, official data showed Wednesday, amid a slowdown in demand, high inflation and steep interest rates.
According to the data on gross domestic product (GDP) released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, the growth during July-September was the lowest since the 6.3 percent expansion in the April-June quarter in 2009.
The GDP growth was 7.7 percent in the quarter ended June and 8.4 percent in the like period of the previous fiscal, the data showed, which also came amid a general slowdown in the global economy and a crisis of sorts in the eurozone.
The latest figures further showed a sluggish manufacturing growth at 2.7 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in the like period of last year, while the agriculture output rose 3.2 percent, against 5.4 percent. Mining output, in fact, declined 2.9 percent against 8 percent.
The construction sector, too, registered a retarded growth of just 4.3 percent against 6.7 percent, while the financial, insurance, real estate and other business services grew at a healthy 10.5 percent against 10 percent.
The electricity and gas sector also rose reasonably well at 9.8 percent, while the hotels, transport and communication business reported a 9.9 percent increase in output.
IANS
