Company boards are operating under increased “political and regulatory” pressure to improve their governance standards, and the resultant risk averseness is a prime reason for the growth slowdown, HDFC Chief Executive Keki Mistry said on Wednesday.

The mortgage lender’s executive said bankers are not taking lending decisions because of this risk averseness syndrome, and warned it will hamper India’s animal spirit unless there is a change. The comments come at a time when official estimates for FY20 project GDP growth hurtling to an 11-year low of 5 per ...