Message : Required fields MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian bank credit growth hit a record low in fiscal 2020-21 and is expected to languish near those levels this year as a massive surge of COVID-19 infections risks denting India's economic recovery and forces lenders to turn cautious again. Credit growth touched a record low of 5.6% in financial year 2021, recently released Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed, and it slipped even further in April. "We were estimating credit growth of 8-9% for this financial year, but due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, a higher mortality rate and lockdowns in several parts of the country, downward risks have arisen," said Karthik Srinivasan, analyst at ICRA.