Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday that India’s economic recovery is likely to be gradual, as the country is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, The Indian Express reported. Das was addressing the National Executive Committee meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or FICCI.

Das told the meeting that the economic recovery is not “fully entrenched”. He said that the Gross Domestic Product numbers for the first quarter of 2020-’21 are a telling reflection of how the coronavirus impacted the economy. India’s GDP fell by a record 23.9% in the April-June quarter.

Global rating agencies have made gloomy predictions for the Indian economy. The Asian Development Bank has said that India’s economy will contract by 9% in the 2020-’21 financial year. On September 8, American credit rating agency Fitch Ratings sharply lowered its growth forecast for India, saying that the country’s Gross Domestic Product for the financial year 2020-’21 is expected to contract by 10.5%, instead of its earlier estimate of a 5% contraction.

Das also said that the RBI is ready to take whatever steps necessary to revive the economy. He said that the central bank’s efforts have led to the softening of bond yields. The RBI governor added that the central bank is also carefully monitoring the markets.

Das also praised the government’s new National Education Policy, PTI reported. “Education contributes to economic development and the new education policy is historic and also much needed new age reform,” he averred. He also said that tourism could be the engine of growth for the economy in the coming days.

India’s coronavirus count rose to 50,20,359 on Wednesday with 90,123 new cases in a day. The toll jumped by 1,290 to 82,066. As many as 39,42,360 people have recovered from the infection, taking the recovery rate to 78.53%. The mortality rate, meanwhile, is 1.63%.