BTTV Exclusive | Growth is back after 4-5 quarters but may taper in H2, says Jitendra Sriram
In an exclusive interview with BTTV, Sriram said the breadth of earnings had also improved, with largecaps delivering nearly 20 per cent YoY growth in the first quarter.
- Aug 19, 2026,
- Updated Aug 19, 2026 3:56 PM IST
Jitendra Sriram, Senior Fund Manager – Equity at Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, said growth had returned for India Inc after four to five quarters and was on a strong footing. In an exclusive interview with BTTV, Sriram said the breadth of earnings had also improved, with largecaps delivering nearly 20 per cent YoY growth in the first quarter. Midcaps posted growth in the mid-twenties, while smallcaps, as measured by the Nifty Smallcap 250, grew around 30 per cent, he said.
"Broadly what we are seeing is that growth has come back after a good four to five quarters. There is, however, a chance, growth might taper in the second half. And the reason for that is if you recall, last year, PM Modi had announced GST cut, which got operationalized somewhere in end of September 2025," Sriram said.
The demand for white goods and vehicles, said Sriram, came through in the second half of the previous year, which was the festive season, implying the base is a little high now.
Bank of Baroda PNB Paribas manages 49 funds. The largest is the Balanced Advantage Fund, in which, Sriram and his team manage Rs 12,000 crore. Its multi-cap and the large cap funds are also performers. The multi-cap fund manages Rs 3,400 crore and the large cap fund assets stand at Rs 2,600 crore.
Bank of Baroda PNB Paribas' crown jewel is the midcap fund, which manges Rs 2,584 crore and has been a stellar outperformer in the last three years, with growth standing at 19 per cent for the past three years, compounded annully.
What worked for Sriram Sriram said his funds managed to latch on to power equipment space really early and then played the entire duration of that trade. "The thermal power story played out, the fact that, you know, uh, energy is a fungible element. If you see any pressure point, for example because of the Middle East and what is happening in the Straits of Hormuz, what we are seeing is a lot more renewed interest coming into thermal power," he said.
Another trade that worked for Sriram was top tier banks. He said large banks have generally been more of market performers than alpha generator over a period of last two, three years.
"What I would say is that the mid-tier banks which have seen large amount of recapitalization have done very well. That is an area that we have, uh, actually, uh, benefited from. We went into a lot of these mid-market names which have actually helped us. I would also say is certain elements of chemicals, which have actually done quite well for us, and that is something that we also, uh, benefited from," Sriram
NBFC stocks On his bullish view on NBFC shares, Sriram said there was a situation where RBI was expected to pivot from a easing perspective to potentially a hardening stance in the earlier part of the year. That concern has now diminished materially, he said, from a top-down view.
"So you had yields, for example, the sovereign yields going above 7 per cent, and then they have retraced their way back to the 6.80 per cent kind of a level now. So to an extent, uh, even if you look at the commentary coming from, monetary authority, what we are seeing is that we may probably nudge the guardrails of say 6 per cent that RBI speaks about as their outer boundary, but is unlikely to breach it or go beyond that, as things appear now," Sriram said.
He said the bond yields have softened and there is also adequate amount of capital available, adding that operating leverage is coming in because of scale economies.
"So those are the themes we have tried to benefit from and wherever we see, NIM improvements, yield improvements starting to build up," he said.
Jitendra Sriram, Senior Fund Manager – Equity at Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, said growth had returned for India Inc after four to five quarters and was on a strong footing. In an exclusive interview with BTTV, Sriram said the breadth of earnings had also improved, with largecaps delivering nearly 20 per cent YoY growth in the first quarter. Midcaps posted growth in the mid-twenties, while smallcaps, as measured by the Nifty Smallcap 250, grew around 30 per cent, he said.
"Broadly what we are seeing is that growth has come back after a good four to five quarters. There is, however, a chance, growth might taper in the second half. And the reason for that is if you recall, last year, PM Modi had announced GST cut, which got operationalized somewhere in end of September 2025," Sriram said.
The demand for white goods and vehicles, said Sriram, came through in the second half of the previous year, which was the festive season, implying the base is a little high now.
Bank of Baroda PNB Paribas manages 49 funds. The largest is the Balanced Advantage Fund, in which, Sriram and his team manage Rs 12,000 crore. Its multi-cap and the large cap funds are also performers. The multi-cap fund manages Rs 3,400 crore and the large cap fund assets stand at Rs 2,600 crore.
Bank of Baroda PNB Paribas' crown jewel is the midcap fund, which manges Rs 2,584 crore and has been a stellar outperformer in the last three years, with growth standing at 19 per cent for the past three years, compounded annully.
What worked for Sriram Sriram said his funds managed to latch on to power equipment space really early and then played the entire duration of that trade. "The thermal power story played out, the fact that, you know, uh, energy is a fungible element. If you see any pressure point, for example because of the Middle East and what is happening in the Straits of Hormuz, what we are seeing is a lot more renewed interest coming into thermal power," he said.
Another trade that worked for Sriram was top tier banks. He said large banks have generally been more of market performers than alpha generator over a period of last two, three years.
"What I would say is that the mid-tier banks which have seen large amount of recapitalization have done very well. That is an area that we have, uh, actually, uh, benefited from. We went into a lot of these mid-market names which have actually helped us. I would also say is certain elements of chemicals, which have actually done quite well for us, and that is something that we also, uh, benefited from," Sriram
NBFC stocks On his bullish view on NBFC shares, Sriram said there was a situation where RBI was expected to pivot from a easing perspective to potentially a hardening stance in the earlier part of the year. That concern has now diminished materially, he said, from a top-down view.
"So you had yields, for example, the sovereign yields going above 7 per cent, and then they have retraced their way back to the 6.80 per cent kind of a level now. So to an extent, uh, even if you look at the commentary coming from, monetary authority, what we are seeing is that we may probably nudge the guardrails of say 6 per cent that RBI speaks about as their outer boundary, but is unlikely to breach it or go beyond that, as things appear now," Sriram said.
He said the bond yields have softened and there is also adequate amount of capital available, adding that operating leverage is coming in because of scale economies.
"So those are the themes we have tried to benefit from and wherever we see, NIM improvements, yield improvements starting to build up," he said.