Note ban hit GDP growth; RBI must cut rates, says India Inc

The government's note ban move clearly had a debilitating impact on India's economy, the industry said today, after GDP data showed growth declined to 6.1 per cent in the JanuaryMarch quarter. India lost the tag of the world's fastest growing major economy to China with a gross domestic product growth of 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. For the full 201617 fiscal, GDP growth stood at a threeyear low of 7.1 per cent. "For the sake of jobs, we need to get our act together and get the growth momentum in place. There is a call on the RBI to reduce the interest rates and boost confidence.

"One only hopes that the impact of demonetisation has played out and does not spill into the current financial year," Assocham President Sandeep Jajodia said.

Ficci President Pankaj Patel said the fourth quarter numbers point towards moderation which can be attributed to the ban of high denomination currency notes last year.

However, he said the process of remonetisation is almost complete and growth impulse is gradually gaining momentum. Patel said India's economic growth is expected to gather pace in the later part of the current year. Jajodia said the underlying sentiment needs to improve.

"Even though the economy would have been remonetised, the manufacturing and other critical sectors would need certain sticky issues like inability of the banks and over-leveraged private sector balance sheets out of the way, before we reach a growth push," the Assocham President said. The government announced the decision to demonetise high denomination currency notes on November 8 last year, banning 86 per cent of the country's cash in circulation.