India’s economic slowdown has bottomed out: NITI vice chairman Rajiv Kumar

The vice chairman of the government’s premier think-tank added that pain due to demonetisation and the roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) was also almost over.

NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said that the economic slowdown the Indian economy is going through has bottomed out and the next two quarters will show some improvement in the growth rates.

Niti Aayog's new vice chairman Rajiv Kumar addresses a press conference after assuming the office, in New Delhi. (PTI File Photo)

He said the downward spiral of economic growth began during the last two years of the UPA government and had now, according to him, “bottomed out”.

As per the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, India’s economic growth rate slipped to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

“I think 2018-19 will be much better than the current fiscal,” he said at an event here.

The vice chairman of the government’s premier think-tank added that pain due to demonetisation and the roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) was also almost over. He said that all countries which adopted GST have gone through some decline in the growth rate.