PTI reported that the Asian Development Bank recently cut India's growth forecast to 5.4% in 2012-13 fiscal, barely 2 months after it had made a projection of 5.6% growth for the Asia's third largest economy.

ADB in its Supplement to the Asian Development Outlook 2012 said that "India's growth forecast is revised from 5.6% to 5.4% in fiscal year 2012 and from 6.7% to 6.5% in FY 2013."

This is the 4 time that the bank has slashed growth estimates for India.

In the ADO released in April, ADB had projected India to grow at 7%. But it lowered its estimate to 6.5% in July and further to 5.6% in the ADO October update citing falling global demand and impact of delayed monsoon on agricultural production.

As regards developing Asia, which comprises 45 nations, ADB lowered its 2012 growth forecast marginally to 6% from 6.1%. It also revised downward the growth outlook for 2013 to 6.6% from 6.7% projected earlier.

ADB said that the growth performance in the developing Asia has remained subdued so far with downside developments slightly outweighing positive events, adding the region should pick up steam in 2013.

India's economy has slowed in the recent years on the back of both domestic and global factors

According to RBI estimates, economic growth fell to a 9 year low of 6.5% in the 2011-12 fiscal and is expected to be 5.8% in the current fiscal.

In the H1 of the current fiscal, the economy grew by 5.4% against 7.3% in the same period last fiscal.

The ADB in its October update said that India can reverse the trend of falling growth by promoting economic reforms and taking steps to improve investment climate.

Source - PTI

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