the auto industry has been one of the most highprofile casualties of the slowdown mumbai indias economic slump has companies worried to varying degrees most have told executives to clamp down on costs and watch spending closely recruitment hasnt been frozen but some have confined themselves to replacement hires most expect a turnaround sooner rather than latercorporate bosses across sectors told et in strict anonymity that they were disappointed by the lack of stimulus measures in the july 5 budget some also characterised the higher surcharge on the superrich as inimical to corporates fm nirmala sitharaman has said the government believed the richest should contribute more to society and nation building advt some veterans are optimistic that a turnaround isnt too far awaymy view is that we will emerge out of this downturn within a year said lt chairman am naik lt said tuesday that june quarter profit rose 20 per cent and contracts advanced 12 per centgodrej group chairman adi godrej said it hadnt stopped hiring reflecting belief in the economys resilience we are also hopeful of a recovery in a couple of months he saidthe imf lowered its fy20 growth forecast for india to 7 per cent from 73 per cent but said it will expand at 72 per cent in fy21 the lower estimate for this fiscal year reflects a weakerthanexpected outlook for domestic demand it said in the latest world economic outlook that was released on tuesdayoptimising costsgrowth slowed to a fiveyear low of 58 per cent in the march quarter according to the latest government data for the year it was down to 68 per cent from 72 per cent in fy18this could be an opportunity to tighten the belta slowdown is a terrible thing to waste said mahindra mahindra managing director pawan goenka paraphrasing economist paul romercompanies will seek to optimise costs and manage slow market conditions said some ceos as long as it doesnt last too long a slowdown every fivesix years forces companies to shed flab that would have accumulated over the years and become lean again they said advt the economic uncertainty isnt confined to india said tvs motor co chairman venu srinivasan after nearly 10 years of consistent growth following the global financial crisis activity has slowed across the world even china with over three decades of strong growth has been stuttering in the past year or so amid trade tensions with the us that and other factors such as the north american trade renegotiation and brexit have dampened global economic activity india isnt insulated from such global currents srinivasan saidbut the government has implemented some longterm reforms in the past few years such as the insolvency and bankruptcy code and the real estate regulation and development act along with a renewed focus on the micro small and medium enterprises sector as well as encouraging startupsthis combination of actions will see demand picking up in the coming months leading to strong economic growth yet again in india srinivasan