April-June Economic Growth Seen at 5.2 Percent: Moody's

New Delhi: Economic growth during the April-June quarter is expected at 5.2 percent and the economy will continue to perform below potential for the entire year, research firm Moody's said. "(April-June quarter) GDP figures are expected to show the economy grew by just 5.2 percent year-on-year," Moody's Analytics said in its India Spotlight report. The first (April-June) quarter GDP numbers are scheduled to be released on Friday. Moody's said the Indian economy will perform below potential through 2012 as the current slowdown is broad-based and that there is little scope to lift growth from its current path. The country's GDP growth had slowed to a nine-year low of 5.3 percentin the January-March quarter. For the entire fiscal the growth had dropped to 6.5 percent. "The slowdown is well entrenched, with most sectors of the economy growing below trend. The broader economy is clearly growing below potential," Moody's said. It further said for the year 2012, Indian economy will grow at 5.5 percent. "A soft second quarter should reaffirm our 2012 GDP forecast, which sits at 5.5 percent, while thoroughly rejecting the government overly optimistic outlook for 7.6 percent growth across the 2012-2013 fiscal year," Moody's said.