'Not a recession yet': FM Sitharaman calms nerves on economic slowdown

In her address to Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman agreed economy has lost steam, but maintained that matters have not descended into a recession yet. She further said that there would never be a recession in the country.

"If you are looking at the economy with a discerning view, you see that growth may have come down but it is not a recession yet, it will not be a recession ever," the Finance Minister said in her address.

"India's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was at 6.4 per cent at the end of 2009-2014, whereas between 2014-2019 it was at 7.5 per cent," she further added.

Economic growth in India has come to a standstill as major macroeconomic parameters are showing signs of slowdown. GDP growth in the June quarter declined to a 6-year low of 5 per cent on the back of sharp decline in consumer demand and tepid investment. Most experts believe this figure to go down even further in September quarter. Industrial output for the month of September recorded a 7-year low of after contracting 4.3 per cent.

The slowdown has spread across sectors too, with once robust segments like auto and retail struggling in recent times. Even festive season this year failed to revive consumer demand.

ALSO READ: Ind-Ra revises India's GDP forecast, cuts it down to 5.6% for FY20

ALSO READ: Auto Slowdown: Honda reopens Manesar factory after 2 weeks but slowdown in industry still persists

ALSO READ: DBS sees further economic slowdown in 2019

ALSO READ: Slowdown Blues: ICRA predicts India's GDP growth rate to fall to 4.7% in Q2 of FY20