New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a press briefing on Friday evening, a government spokesman said, amid expectations that the government would announce steps to revive economic growth.

Several businessmen say the government needs to take swift action on the economy, as the economic growth in January-March slid to a near five-year low of 5.8%. Most analysts expect data due later this month to show that growth in April-June faltered even further.

Domestic passenger vehicle sales, a key economic indicator, plunged an annual 31% in July — the steepest recorded pace of decline in nearly two decades.

"The speed of decision-making is very good for example in Kashmir, but the speed of decision-making on business matters is not good," Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Group, had said earlier.

"India Inc is worried that the slowdown may deepen further. We need action," Godrej said in an earlier interview, citing tax breaks for the auto sector and big companies among his top wishes ahead of his taking any major decisions to weather the slowdown.

Companies have already started to cut their workforces. The autos sector alone has laid off about 350,000 workers since April and even companies like cookie maker Parle, which sells biscuits for as little as ₹5 a pack, have warned they may have to lay off up to 10,000 workers, due to weakening demand.

The broad Nifty index has shed more than 10% since hitting a high in June, in part pressured by the trade war between the US and China. Foreign portfolio investors yanked $1.8 billion out of Indian equities in July alone.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed

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