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India Reports Slowest Economic Growth in Nine Years

The gross domestic product of India expanded at a 5.3% pace in January-March 2012, the smallest increase since early 2003.
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The gross domestic product of India expanded at a 5.3% pace in January-March 2012, the smallest increase since early 2003.

India's factory output, which rose 7.3% in the first three months of 2011, contracted 0.3% in the latest quarter. Agriculture, which employs two-third of the country's workforce, grew only 1.7% compared with 7.3% a year earlier.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, India's economy grew 6.5%, the slowest annual growth in nine years. GDP grew 8.4% in the previous fiscal year.

Banking giant HSBC called India a "gasping elephant" in a new report to investors. HSBC predicts the country's "policy paralysis" on economic and investment reforms will lead to several years of sub-par growth and high inflation. The Finance Ministry vows to take "all necessary steps" to shrink the country's ballooning budget.

India's central bank must now balance calls for lower interest rates to jump-start the economy and concerns about rising inflation.

The rupee fell to an all-time low against the dollar at about 56.50 on Thursday.

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