Growth cycle will turn up from Q3: Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI

In an exclusive conversation with ET Now, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI, says that EU and UK are our large trading partners and it is unlikely that India will be impacted heavily due to Brexit. Edited excerpts:

ET Now: What is your growth outlook going forward from here?

Arundhati Bhattacharya: By the third quarter of this year, we should definitely see the growth cycle turning up. The first two quarters are always weak quarters. The busy season starts during the third quarter.

I think that with the onset of the busy season, with monsoon having done well till now, things seems to be doing well. Many of the projects that the government is talking about would actually be kicking off by that time. By that time, the upturn should probably start.

ET Now: Do you think India is fairly insulated against what is happening in terms of the globe right now?

Arundhati Bhattacharya: Insulation is not the right word. Our economy can withstand global shocks as our dependence on global trade is still not very large. EU and UK are large trading partners of India and there is no big change happening over there, but there is a financial uncertainty which should worry us.

However, internally I think our consumption requirements are still very large. And during the difficult years, our exporters have managed to diversify their export baskets. To that extent, I believe that we should not be worried much. There will be a setback here and there. Certain companies who may even face difficulties but overall I believe things should be alright.

ET Now: How closely should India watch the US presidential election and what is the impact it is likely to have on our financial markets?

Arundhati Bhattacharya: It is very difficult at this point of time to talk about US Presidential elections. I do not think the US itself knows which way it will go. US is one of our largest trading partners and there are lot of linkages between India and US. We are are both democracies and we share the same set of values.

I do not believe that any outcome of a presidential election will materially change these linkages. To that extent, with everything else, there would be a settling in period but thereafter I believe the trajectory of our ties will be maintained.