Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that she is hoping the country’s economy will start looking up in the second half of the current financial year (FY20) as consumption rises and banks increase their lending operations. The minster mentioned that economic slowdown seems to have bottomed out and the coming festive season will help the economy start looking up. The GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year slipped to an over six-year low of 5%.
Sitharaman met private-sector lenders and financial institutions that, according to her, categorically stated they are not facing liquidity crisis. They also said there is enough demand for loans. She further said the private sector banks and financial institutions told her that the slump in commercial vehicle sales is cyclical and likely to pick up in the next one or two quarters.
As regards slowdown in the passenger vehicle segment, she said that the banks see the issue as cyclical and not structural. The slowdown in sales is sentiment driven according to the banks.