Temat: India's economic growth slows down to 8.9 percent

India's economic growth slows down to 8.9 percent
NEW DELHI, Nov.30 (Xinhua) -- India registered a 8.9 percent of economic growth in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, down from 10.2 percent in the comparable period of last year, according to the data released by the Indian government Friday.
The sluggish performance of the manufacturing sector accounted for the slow down, said the release.
The industrial production grew at its slowest pace in almost a year in September, expanding by an annual 6.4 percent, dragged down by tighter monetary policy and a rising rupee.
The Reserve Bank of India expects expansion to slow to 8.5 percent for the whole fiscal year.
India's economy grew by 9.4 percent in last fiscal year which ends on March 31, 2007, its fastest rate in the last 18 years. The economy has grown at an average annual rate of 8.6 percent in the last four years.
The Indian central bank began tightening monetary policy in 2004 and has raised interest rates five times between June 2006 and March 2007 to tame prices.
Inflation, now at 3.01 percent, is well below the bank's 5.0 percent annual target and down from a two-year peak of nearly seven percent early this year, causing speculation that the interest rate hikes could be over.