India's economy grew at a near-decade low of 5.3% in the three months from January to March, data showed today.
High interest rates and the global downturn continue to hit the emerging market giant.
The unexpectedly grim figure undershot analysts' 6.1% growth forecasts.
It coincided with neighbouring China's series of bleak data that have dashed hopes non Western economies could help revive the global economy.
HSBC chief India economist Leif Eskesen compared India's weak performance, which pushed the country's currency to a record low of 56.50 rupees to the dollar, to that of a "gasping elephant".
"The slowdown in growth has proven deeper than expected. It is the result of the lagged effects of monetary policy tightening and the impact of the weak global economic conditions," Eskesen said.
Full-year growth to March 2012 was 6.5%, lower than the government's initial estimate of 6.9% and far below the 8.4% logged the previous year. It was also the weakest annual growth since India's economy expanded by just 4% in 2002-03.
Business leaders called for cuts in India's high interest rates but analysts said monetary policy cannot be eased significantly because of inflation of around 7%. Cutting rates could also further weaken the rupee.
The growth figures were a further blow to the struggling government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who only in January was talking of growth rates of nine to 10% - levels seen as vital to reduce India's crushing poverty.
The government has been on the defensive, embroiled in a string of corruption scandals while its failure to push forward reforms and the announcement of new controversial taxes have punctured overseas sentiment. Singh's government, which has ballooning fiscal and current account deficits, also has little room to increase spending to spur growth.
The weak data came on a day India was hit by a sweeping nationwide strike over a steep rise in petrol prices that shut offices and halted public transport in many cities.
The final quarter of the last financial year saw a contraction in the key manufacturing sector, with output shrinking 0.3%, compared with 7.3% expansion in the same quarter last year. Farm, construction and mining production grew only modestly.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee insisted most factors contributing to the economy's weakness had "bottomed out," adding the good monsoon predicted for this year - vital to farm output - should help in the recovery.
Premier Singh, credited with opening up the economy when he was the finance minister in 1991, conceded last week his coalition must "do better" to get the once red-hot economy back to 9% growth rates seen in the past decade.
