The Indian economy is estimated to fall to 6.9 percent this fiscal year, the slowest growth in three years, the Indian government said on Tuesday.

This down spiral is attributed to a host of factors including slump in manufacturing and global conditions stifling the investment, news reports said.

Manufacturing growth is also expected to drop down to 3.9 percent in this fiscal from 7.6 percent last year. Likewise, agriculture and allied activities are likely to grow at 2.5 percent in 2011-12, compared to a robust growth of 7 percent in 2010-11.

This figure indicates that the pace of economic expansion slowed in the second half of 2011-12, given that GDP growth in the April-September, 2011, period stood at 7.3 percent.

Furthermore, the finance, insurance, real estate and business services sectors are likely to grow by 9.1 per cent this fiscal, against 10.4 percent last fiscal.

Commenting on the GDP growth estimates, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: "The 6.9 percent is consistent with what we have been saying.

"We said 7 per cent for year (2011-12) as whole. (With) 7.3 per cent in the first half and 6.9 in the third quarter, 7 percent is possible."

According to the data, growth in electricity, gas and water production is, however, likely to be better this year. The segments are expected to grow up by 8.3 percent in 2011-12,  against 3 percent in 2010-11.

During the current fiscal, the trade, hotel, transport and communication sectors are projected to grow by 11.2 percent, against 11.1 per cent last fiscal.

Community social and personal services are pegged to witness a growth of 5.9 percent, compared to 4.5 percent in the year-ago period.

The government and the RBI had earlier said that global economic slowdown and the high domestic interest rate regime is likely to act as a dampener in this fiscal's growth.

However, the 6.9 percent growth projected in the advanced estimates is lower than what experts have been forecasting.

The Indian economy had expanded by 8.4 percent in both 2010-11 and 2009-10, while growth in 2008-09 was 6.7 percent.

The advance GDP estimates are released before the end of a financial year to enable the government to formulate various estimates for inclusion in the Budget. nepalnews.com