GDP growth this year to be a mere 5 %: government

India's economic growth rate this fiscal year, ending next month, will be a mere 5 per cent, the lowest in a decade, according to official estimates released today.

All three major sectors - manufacturing, agriculture and services – have performed poorly, according to the advanced estimates of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

This estimate by CSO is considerably lower than what has been projected thus far by the government and the Reserve Bank of India.

The central bank's forecast for the year had been 5.5 per cent, while finance minister P Chidambaram had projected growth of 5.9 per cent, but both appear to have been over-optimisic.

"The growth in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) during 2012-13 is estimated at 5 per cent as compared to a growth rate of 6.2 per cent in 2011-12," said the CSO.

In 2002-03, the GDP had grown at 4 per cent. Since then the Indian economy has been expanding at over 6 per cent, the highest rate being 9.6 per cent in 2006-07.