GDP growth hits three-year low of 5.7% in April-June

NEW DELHI: India's GDP growth for the first quarter of the current fiscal ended June slowed down to 5.7 per cent, from 6.1 per cent reported for the fourth quarter of 2016-17, official data showed on Thursday. According to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the GDP for Q1 stood at Rs 31.10 lakh crore, or a growth of 5.7 per cent, compared with 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal. The drop in growth was even sharper compared to the like quarter a year ago when the country's GDP grew at 7.9 per cent. Chief Statistician of India T.C.A. Anant on Thursday said the slowdown in GDP growth for the first quarter of 2017-18 to 5.7 per cent was due to de-stocking by firms as caution ahead of the GST roll-out on July 1. "Major sector which has seen a sharp decline is industry. Corporate entities were pulling down their stocks in Q1 (April-June), which seems to be in anticipation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) price labelling effect," Anant told media persons here after GDP numbers for the first quarter were released. He said the phenomenon was usually not observed as firms accumulated stocks ahead of the festive season. The Chief Statistician said there was a likely revival from the second quarter onwards as subsequently stocks would be restored to normal levels as GST progressed.