In a development that will do little help to Congress led ruling alliance, which faces an uphill struggle in elections due by May amid allegations of economic mismanagement, corruption scams and high inflation, the Central Statistics Organization (CSO), pegged FY14 GDP growth at 4.9% against the street’s expectation of little lower figure and as compared to the growth rate of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13. However, the growth figure continues to remain below 5% for the fiscal year that ends on March 31, thanks to a slower-than-expected recovery by industries.
The sectors which registered growth rate of over 5 percent were finance, insurance, real estate and business services, community, social and personal services and electricity, gas & water supply. The growth in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, mining and quarrying, construction and trade, hotels, transport and communication was estimated to be 4.6 per cent, (-) 0.2, (-) 1.9 per cent, 1.7 per cent, and 3.5 per cent respectively.