Indian economy's growth slows to 5.5 percent in first quarter

New Delhi : The Indian economy grew at a much lower pace of 5.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal, as per official estimates of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) released Friday, against 8 percent in the like period of 2011-12. The drop was mainly on account of a mere 0.2 percent growth in the manufacturing sector, against 7.3 percent in the previous fiscal, even as farm growth also dropped from 3.7 percent to 2.9 percent, showed the data of Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). Surprisingly, construction and services sector, which includes insurance, finance and realty, grew at 10.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. Output from these two groups had expanded by 3.5 percent and 9.4 percent in the first quarter of last fiscal.