Mumbai: HDFC Bank MD and CEO Aditya Puri has said Indian GDP will recover "very fast" and pointed out that it is essential to get the growth rate back to the pre-COVID levels.
The largest lender in the private sector will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic "way way stronger" than it ever was, Puri said in an e-mail to the bank's employees earlier this month.
It can be noted that the economy is widely expected to contract in FY21, with some analysts pegging the GDP to decline by 5 per cent. The entire first quarter has been a washout due to the continuing lockdowns with only essential services being allowed to operate.
Earlier on Thursday, worries over growth led global agency Fitch to revise down its outlook on the sovereign to "negative" while affirming the rating.
"The COVID crisis is a health crisis which killed supply and over a period of time demand as well. However, I am confident in the future of India and even brighter future of HDFC Bank. The GDP and the country will recover very fast," Puri, the founder chief executive of the lender who has been at the helm for 25 years, said.
Read more:Fitch lowers India's outlook to negative after 8 years, retains lowest investment grade rating