Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian on Friday attributed the slowdown in the growth of Gross Domestic Product to domestic and global factors, reported PTI. He assured that the government was taking steps to improve the situation.

Data released by the National Statistical Office earlier in the evening showed that growth in the April-June quarter slipped to a six-year low of 5%.

“The slowdown in growth is due to endogenous and exogenous factors,” said Subramanian. He added that the government was committed to reviving the economy, and claimed that the country would “very soon” be on a high-growth path.

“[The government is] alive to the imperatives of achieving the target of $5 trillion economy as well as the need to handle these short-term situations,” ANI quoted Subramanian as saying. “[The] government has been taking pro-active steps, they reflect in recent announcements made by finance minister.”

His statement came moments after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the merger of 10 public sector banks into four entities. This will bring down the number of state-run lenders to 12 from 27 in 2017. The Narendra Modi government had announced two bank mergers in its previous term.

Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank will be merged to create the country’s second largest public sector bank. Union Bank of India will be merged with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank. Canara Bank will be merged with Syndicate Bank to form the fourth largest bank in the sector.

Last week, Sitharaman had announced a slew of measures to boost the economy, less than two months after presenting the Union Budget. The Reserve Bank of India had also announced last week that it would give the central government Rs 1.76 lakh crore of its dividend and surplus reserves.

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