India’s GDP figures likely to disappoint: analysts

India's economy is grew at its slowest pace in more than two years over the past few months and immediate prospects are far from bright, according to economic analysts.

A Reuters poll found that high interest rates and soaring input costs hampered manufacturing activity – a fact that has been obvious for some time now, with the index of industrial production IPP on the slide.

Ratings agency Moody's also predicted in a report on Monday that the gross domestic product (GDP) figures due to be released on Wednesday would show the economy expanding at the slowest pace since 2008.

India's GDP grew at an annual 6.4 per cent rate in the quarter ended December, according to the Reuters poll of 26 economists. Forecasts ranged from 6.0 to 7.3 per cent with a majority of them lying below the consensus.

Moody's growth rate projection is 6.2 per cent.

This would be a significant slowdown from 6.9 per cent in the previous July-September quarter, and would mark the fourth straight quarter of growth below 8 per cent.