garment workers cut fabric to make shirts at a textile factory of texport industries in hindupur town in the southern state of andhra pradesh india february 9 2022 reuterssamuel rajkumar bengaluru aug 29 reuters  india likely recorded strong doubledigit economic growth in the last quarter but economists polled by reuters expected the pace to more than halve this quarter and slow further toward the end of the year as interest rates rise asias thirdlargest economy is grappling with persistently high unemployment and inflation which has been running above the top of the reserve bank of indias tolerance band all year and is set to do so for the rest of 2022 growth this quarter is predicted to slow sharply to an annual 62 from a median forecast of 152 in q2 supported mainly by statistical comparisons with a year ago rather than new momentum before decelerating further to 45 in octoberdecember read more the median expectation for 2022 growth was 72 according to an aug 2226 reuters poll but economists said that the solid growth rate masks how rapidly the economy was expected to slow in coming months even as india remains the fastestgrowing major economy domestic consumption will perhaps not be strong enough to drive growth further as unemployment remains high and real wages are at a record low level said kunal kundu india economist at societe generale by supporting growth through investment the government has only fired on one engine while forgetting about the impetus which domestic consumption provides this is why indias growth is still below its prepandemic trend the economy has not grown fast enough to accommodate some 12 million people joining the labour force each year meanwhile the rbi a relative laggard in the global tightening cycle is set to raise its key repo rate by another 60 basis points by the end of march to try to bring inflation within the tolerance limit that follows three interest rate rises this year totalling 140 basis points and would take the repo rate to 600 by endq1 2023 while the central banks mandated target band is 26 inflation was expected to average 69 and 62 this quarter and next respectively before falling just below the top end of the range to 58 in q1 2023 that is roughly in line with the central banks projection despite signs of a cooloff in price pressures  it is premature to go easy on the inflation fight given considerable uncertainties from geopolitical risks and hard landing risks in major economies said radhika rao senior economist at dbs the economy is also enduring inflation pressure from a weak rupee which for months has been trading close to 80 to the us dollar a level the central bank has been defending in currency markets by selling dollar reserves the latest reuters poll also showed indias current account deficit swelling to 31 of gross domestic product this year the highest in at least a decade which may put further pressure on the currency reporting by arsh tushar mogre polling by anant chandak devayani sathyan and vivek mishra editing by hari kishan ross finley