Slowdown signals

Next govt faces a daunting economic challenge

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, has reportedly cut production by 26.8 per cent in March 2018-19 because of a slowing demand in India’s passenger vehicle market. The cutback is significant as it comes after at least three years of strong double-digit growth. Maruti Suzuki isn’t alone. A combination of factors, including the tightening of credit norms by financiers and declining urban sales and slowing rural offtake, has forced every other automobile company to pare production. The automobiles sector is just one example of the slowdown, which is gripping the economy. Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 60 per