Experts said the agriculture sector may have also contributed to the slowdown, even as industry and services kept the economy growing. "The agricultural sector is expected to experience a pronounced slowdown due to diminished rainfall activity and subsequent declines in reservoir levels," said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CareEdge. "After a lower-than-projected kharif output, rabi sowing has exhibited a sluggish trend through most of the season, except for an uptick in the last couple of weeks," Sinha said.
India likely grew 6.6% in the third quarter this fiscal year, according to the median of estimates in an ET poll of 15 economists, decelerating from 7.6% in the preceding three months. Forecasts ranged from 6% to 7.2% for the quarter ended December.