After a contraction in the current financial year, India’s economy is forecast to bounce back with a sharp growth rate of 9.5 per cent next year provided it avoids further deterioration in financial sector health, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday. The coronavirus pandemic will lead to shrinking of the already slowing economy in 2020-21 that started in April. Fitch Ratings forecast a 5 per cent contraction in the GDP in the ongoing financial year. “The pandemic has drastically weakened India’s growth outlook and laid bare the challenges caused by a high public-debt burden,” Fitch Ratings said in its APAC Sovereign Credit Overview released on Wednesday. “After the global crisis, India’s GDP growth is likely to return to higher levels than ‘BBB’ category peers, provided it avoids further deterioration in financial sector health as a result of the pandemic,” it said forecasting a 9.5 per cent real GDP growth next year.