 "Climate for investment vitiated, appetite for investment poor: Congress")
The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Centre over India's economy slowing down to 6.3 per cent in the July-September quarter of this fiscal, saying it is a pity that the government is helpless against external factors and in denial about internal factors.
Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram alleged that the climate for investment is "vitiated" and the appetite for investment is "poor".
India's economic growth slowed down to 6.3 per cent in the July-September quarter of this fiscal, dragged down mainly by the poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors, official data showed on Wednesday.
However, India remained the fastest-growing major economy as China registered an economic growth of 3.9 per cent between July and September 2022.
"As expected (except by the government), GDP growth rate in Q2 has come down from 13.5 per cent to 6.3 per cent. I am afraid it may be lower in Q3. There are both external factors and internal factors that have pulled down the growth rate," Chidambaram said on Twitter.
The pity is that the government is helpless against the external factors and in denial about the internal factors, he said.
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"The climate for investment is vitiated. The appetite for investment is poor. The ICOR (Incremental Capital-Output Ratio) has perhaps deteriorated. Given these factors, the chances of lifting the growth rate are low," Chidambaram said.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate said the 6.3 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter is less than half of the 13.5 per cent in the first quarter.
The sycophants that were "patting the backs after the first quarter, while we warned - where are they", she asked.
"Manufacturing shrinks investment and jobs are in jeopardy. Modi ji - find a solution, don't shy away from the truth," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
The Indian economy grew by 8.4 per cent in July-September, 2021-22, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 13.5 per cent in the April-June quarter this fiscal.
The second quarter GDP growth is almost at par with the RBI's projection of 6.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent released earlier this month in one of the articles published in its bulletin.