India’s GDP slows to 5 percent
The government’s attempt to increase employment has come as a major setback, with the CSO reducing GDP growth to five per cent during the first quarter of the current financial year. The lower growth rate clearly means that there is a big reduction in economic activity. Clearly, this is also continuously reducing employment opportunities. According to experts, employment opportunities may further shrink in the coming days.
According to the data released by the CSO on Friday, the manufacturing sector has suffered a major decline. During the first quarter, the growth rate of manufacturing has been just 0.6 percent as compared to the growth rate of 12 percent in the same period last year.
It is to be noted that manufacturing is the only sectors where employment opportunities arise even for unskilled and partially trained people in large numbers. In such a situation, weakness in this sector can also be seen on the job security of the present people working in construction units of this sector.
Industrial production declined to 3.6 per cent during the first quarter, compared to 5.1 per cent in the same period last year. Apart from this, automobile sales, rail freight and domestic air traffic have declined during this period. Imports of non-oil, non-gold, non-silver and less precious stones etc. have also registered a decrease during this period, indicating that the purchasing power of the people is decreasing.
Sales of passenger vehicles have come down to their lowest in 19 years during this period. Sales of passenger vehicles declined by 31 percent during the first quarter of the current financial year. Significantly, the sales of passenger vehicles have been declining for 9 consecutive months. This will also affect the people working in these manufacturing units.
Biggest fall in PM Modi Government
This is the slowest pace of GDP in any one quarter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. About 7 years ago in the UPA government, GDP figures reached this level in any one quarter. In the first quarter of FY 2012-13, GDP figures were at a low of 4.9 per cent. The RBI has reduced India’s GDP estimate to 6.9 percent for the financial year 2019-20. The GDP was earlier estimated to be 7 per cent for the current financial year.
Country undergoing economic slowdown
There is a phase of lethargy in other sectors including automobiles of the country. There is a steady decline in production and sales in the auto sector. The jobs of millions of people have gone there. Similarly, FMCG and textile sector are also going through the situation like recession.
