GDP growth at 7.1 pct seems disappointing: Economic Affairs Secretary

Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said it "seems disappointing" that India's GDP growth rate slowed to 7.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2018-19.

He said while manufacturing and agriculture growth was steady, construction and mining reflected deceleration due to the monsoon. However, he said the half-year growth at 7.4 per cent was "quite robust and healthy".

"GDP growth for second quarter 2018-19 at 7.1 per cent seems disappointing. Manufacturing growth at 7.4 per cent and agriculture growth at 3.8 per cent are steady. Construction at 6.8 per cent and mining at minus 2.4 per cent reflect monsoon months deceleration," he said in a tweet.

"First half GDP growth is at 7.6 per cent and is quite robust and healthy. Still the highest growth rate in the world," he said.

His remarks came after the official data released on Friday showed that the pace of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed during the second quarter of 2018-19 to 7.1 per cent from 8.2 per cent in the first quarter. It was 6.3 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.