NEW DELHI: India’s economy grew 4.7% in the December quarter, its slowest pace in nearly seven years, declining further from an upwardly revised 5.1% in the previous quarter, undermining suggestions that the slowdown may have bottomed out. Experts said the rapid spread of Covid-19 is likely to lead to further disruption, delaying a recovery.“We have already bottomed out,” said economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty.Independent experts were less sanguine.“The estimates do not take into account the impact of the coronavirus which several companies have reported would have negative impact in Q4,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Care Ratings.“Despite 3Q generally being one of the strongest quarters due to the festival season and higher rural spending driven by kharif harvest, the growth slowdown is continuing,” said DK Pant, chief economist, India Ratings and Research. “Although some high-frequency data suggested some improvement for a month or two… it tapered off after that.”The rise in retail inflation means the Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to cut rates anytime soon to support growth. GDP growth for the December quarter is the lowest since the March quarter of FY13, when it stood at 4.3%. With significant revisions for the earlier quarters, growth in the nine-month period is 5.1%, which makes achieving 5% growth for the year easier.The broad-based slowdown in the economy continued though the farm sector posted better gross value added growth at 3.5% in the December quarter compared with 3.1% in the previous one. Manufacturing contracted by 0.2% while construction grew a modest 0.3%.Growth in gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), an indicator of investment, is expected to fall 1.7% in the full year. GFCF had grown 12% in FY19. In the third quarter, GFCF declined 5.15% from a year ago.The only silver lining in the data was a 5.5% rise in private consumption.“The good thing is that private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) is holding up but GFCF may continue to fall due to global factors,” said Indranil Pan, chief economist at IDFC First Bank.The bank expects FY21 GDP growth at 5.2-5.3% due to the coronavirus outbreak, lower than 6-6.5% pegged in the Economic Survey.Covid-19 could delay the economy’s revival prospects.“At present, it is difficult to conclude whether the risks arising from the rapid spread of the coronavirus for domestic tourism, trade and manufacturing, would outweigh the improved outlook for the agricultural sector and rural spending, engendered by the encouraging outlook for the rabi crop,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA.The per capita net national income in FY20 is estimated at Rs 1,34,432 (Rs 1,35,050 in the first advance estimates), up 6.3%% from Rs 1,26,521 in FY19.