Economic tale of two countries: Bottoms reached

Chinese economic statistics were released on Tuesday, causing fresh fears in the rest of the world about the shape of things to come. Chinese economy has sunk like never before in the past 25 years. The Chinese growth rate was 6.9% last year, which was the case in 1990 also. Chaina's GDP stood at 67.67 trillion yuan (about $10.3 trillion). Its manufacturing side was overtaken by services by 0.5% to reach 50.5%. The manufacturing side falling behind is said to be the cause of China's economic woes. The growth rate relesed by China's National Bureau of Statistics moderated to 6.8% for the fourth quarter was said to be the lowest since world recession in 2009. Analysts said if the Chinese economny slipped below 6.8%, the Beijing government may have to opt for a stimulus package, which it was trying to avoid, through investments in infrastructure. Likewise, in India too, the base point has been reached. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took up power, the stock market Sensex was 24,180. After 29 months, the Sensex fell back to 24,180 now. However, the government economists continue to reiterate the economic fundamentals are strong, and that fall, if any, is on account of factors in the world economy. BSP Paribas Mutual Fund Manager Shreyas Devalkar has admitted that there is no improvement in the statistics at the micro level.