India's GDP growth rate plunges to 5.3%

The yield on India's benchmark 10-year government bonds are down 11 basis points so far on Thursday.

India's main stock index Sensex extended its declines after the data to 1.3 percent on the day.

A rate cut is a given now, Sahay said.

The rupee fell on Thursday to a record low beyond 56.50 per dollar. Its slide of 14 percent from its 2012 high adds to inflation concerns in the country.

The rupee has fallen in the face of global risk aversion over the euro zone debt crisis. But investors have raised a number of India-specific red flags as well, including a swelling current account, high government spending on subsidies such as oil and a rash of unpredictable regulations and tax as the coalition struggles to push through economic reforms.

Infrastructure sector output growth slows to 2.2%

Reflecting slowdown in the economy, the growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors slowed down to 2.2 per cent in April because of poor performance of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products and fertilisers.

The eight core sectors that also include coal, electricity, cement and finished steel, and have a weightage of 37.9 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 4.2 per cent in April 2011.

The cumulative growth rate of infrastructure industries during 2011-12 also slowed down to 4.4 per cent, from 6.6 per cent in 2010-11, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry today.

Natural gas and crude oil production contracted by 11.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively during April.

Petroleum refinery products and fertiliser production shrunk 2.8 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively during the month.

Coal, Steel and cement output grew by 3.8 per cent, 5.8 per cent and 8.6 per cent in April 2012. In the same month last year, coal output had grown 2.7 per cent, steel - 2.9 per cent and cement - 0.1 per cent.

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