Ashutosh Bhargava on 3 key themes that can outperform this year
«On the NBFC side, we are more positive on, I would say, non-consumer NBFCs which are more catered towards CV cycle or power sector and we are also diversifying within financials towards non-lenders like insurance, this is one sector where we think this is ripe for some kind of outperformance over the next two to three years,» says Ashutosh Bhargava, Nippon India Mutual Fund.
A quick view on the way policy pared out today. There was expectation that there would be some stance change at least, that did not happen, forget about the rates but it appeared that the governor was very steadfast on controlling inflation and some commentary again on top-up loans and deposits continues to remain an issue. What were your key observations from the policy commentary today?
Ashutosh Bhargava: So, going into this policy, it is not that there was a consensus of a rate cut, but there was definitely an expectation of some change in stance towards more neutral, but that has not happened. It seems that the RBI is very focused on this 4% inflation target and overlooking already below 4% core inflation.
To my mind, this is slightly disappointing because it is possible that real rates are already very high in the country and there is a right time to start indicating easing of policy. And as you mentioned, particular focus on curbing the lending towards the consumer sector perhaps would further weaken the growth price prospect of consumption as a sector.
Because in my view, monetary policy is far more relevant for consumption at this
