By Nikunj Ohri
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The Indian government held talks on the state of its economy with Moody’s Investors Service on Friday and pitched for a ratings upgrade, two officials said.
Moody’s rates India at the lowest investment grade of “Baa3” with a “stable” outlook, similar to those assigned by S&P and Fitch at ‘BBB-‘.
The meeting was an annual event where they discussed the government’s take on the economy to help the credit agencies make their assessments, the government official, who did not want to be identified, told reporters.
Immediately after the meeting, another official, who also did not want to be identified, told reporters that the Indian officials had questioned the ratings agency about its parameters in deciding a country’s rating.
Global ratings agencies take into account parameters such as growth rate, inflation, general government debt and short-term external debt as a percentage of GDP and political stability as some of their key considerations.
Earlier this year, India met all three global rating agencies and pitched for an upgrade, saying its economic metrics have improved considerably since the pandemic.
India’s growth in the last fiscal year ended on March 31 was 7.2%, one of the highest among big economies, while it aims to cut its fiscal deficit to 5.9% of gross domestic product by the end of the current fiscal year.
The Asian economy expects to grow between 6% and 6.8% in the current fiscal year, according to the government.
Moody’s did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.
(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri;Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Nick Macfie)
