“This is not good news for an economy that must generate a large number of new jobs every year. It is essential that the reform agenda is carried forward with vigour and that the recently announced measures are implemented in earnest. Only then we will be able to witness a paradigm shift and place the economy on the path of higher and sustainable growth trajectory. At the same time, it is imperative for the government to give a renewed thrust to the manufacturing sector which is not showing signs of any sustained pick-up,” R.V. Kanoria, FICCI President, said in a statement.

Industry body CII expressed deep concerns about the continuing decline in GDP growth, driven by the poor performance of the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

“At 5.3 percent, the Q2 GDP growth is very disappointing. Reviving the investment climate and containing fiscal deficit should be top priority. There needs to be further rationalization of subsidies. The increase in diesel prices announced in September was a welcome measure. More needs to follow,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII in a statement.

While reacting on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures of the second quarter of the current fiscal, industry lobby group Assocham expressed hopes that the worst is over and the GDP growth of 5.3% may improve in the coming quarters in view of positive sentiments in the markets, initiation of reform process and likelihood of several bills pending in the parliament see the light of the day.