Jan-Mar growth likely to remain weak: Experts

The GDP growth in the October-December quarter slipped to that low level, hit by poor performance of farm, mining and manufacturing sector and may lump more pressure on RBI to respond with an interest rate reduction on March 19.

"Industrial growth showed some uptick but continues to remain weak. We think weakness in activity will carry forward to Q1 2013 (January-March)," Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Chief India Economist Tushar Poddar said in a note.

Echoing similar sentiments, Credit Suisse Research Analysts Robert Prior-Wandesforde said: "Looking ahead, it is hard to be particularly optimistic about March quarter GDP given the heavy government spending constraints that are in

place."

A Citigroup report said, "With April-December FY'13 growth at 5 per cent, growth in Q4 (January-March) would need to rise to 5 per cent to meet the CSO's advance GDP estimate of 5 per cent. We believe this is likely and maintain our view of a modest uptick in the coming quarters."

In its advance estimates for 2012-13, the CSO has projected economic growth rate of 5 per cent, the lowest in the decade.

In the previous fiscal, GDP grew by 6.2 per cent.

The economic growth in the first nine months of this fiscal (April-December) stood at 5.1 per cent. The economy grew by 5.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent in the first and second

... contd.