Growth of eight core sectors 2.1% in July, down from 7.3% last year

Growth of eight core sectors slowed down to just 2.1 per cent in July as against 7.3 per cent in the corresponding month last year, according to the government data released on Monday.

The data showed that the growth has slowed down in five out of eight sectors, reflecting widespread weakness in the overall economy.

The eight core sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.

For the month of July alone, growth in five sectors slumped as compared to July last year thus resulting in the overall growth rate coming down to 2.1% from 7.3% last year.

With four of these sectors showing negative growth and another two having slid sharply as compared to the corresponding period (April-July) last year, the overall growth percentage has come down to just 3% for the period.

Besides, weak manufacturing and consumption numbers have brought the country’s GDP growth to just 5% in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, as per the data released by National Statistical Office (NSO). The GDP growth rate has now slowed for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Notwithstanding the data, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has said that Indian economy is doing "quite well" despite a global slowdown, adding that the Modi government in its six years has laid a "formal foundation" with measures like the GST and tax reforms.

Patra claimed in a press conference on Monday that now the atmosphere is about "Modi hai to mumkin hai" (It is possible if Modi is there) as the prime minister has created a “strong economy with good credentials” in his six years of rule.

Modi's economic policy has propelled India among the top five world economises, he added.

"The world economy is facing a slowdown but we can say with happiness that Indian economy is doing well... because of strong base and fundamentals, our economy is doing quite well," he said.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the state of economy was "deeply worrying" and urged the government to put aside "vendetta politics" and reach out to sane voices and thinking minds to steer the economy out of this "man-made crisis".

The Congress leader said "all-round mismanagement" by the Modi government was responsible for the slowdown.