The country’s economy, which has shown resilience to come out from a downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to bounce back from the next fiscal, State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Saturday. There will be a “paradigm shift” which will lead to a more matured economy” with economic players learning to contain costs, he said.

Addressing the virtual annual general meeting of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Khara said, “The economy is expected to bounce back from the next fiscal starting from April 2021. The next normal will see a paradigm shift and some of them will be permanent.”

Mr Khara said the economy had shown “resilience to come out from the downturn” and some positive traction was witnessed towards the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal.

According to him, investment demand from corporate will take some time to pick up.

“Average capacity utilisation among the corporations is around 69 per cent. Investment demand from corporate will take some time to pick up. The cash-rich PSUs will initially embark upon capital expenditure plan which will generate investment demand,” he said.

The corporate sector will become “very careful about borrowings” and use their internal resources initially.

He said the core sectors of the economy, such as steel and cement, have been doing well throughout the period starting from April 2020, and they are in a position to tap the export markets.

However, the travel, tourism and hospitality are the worst-hit sectors in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.