New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Fitch Ratings on Tuesday retained India’s sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-‘ for the 20th year in a row, but flagged risks of pressure on fiscal spending amid youth protest over jobs.
Fitch said despite headwinds from the energy shock due to the West Asia conflict, India’s economy remains strong with robust growth outlook and solid external finance fundamentals.
The ratings agency forecast a 6.4 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal year. The growth is, however, slower than the average 7.4 per cent growth clocked over the past three years.
“Fitch Ratings has affirmed India’s Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at BBB- with a stable outlook,” Fitch said in its rating action.
India’s rating has remained unchanged at ‘BBB-‘, the lowest investment grade, since 2006.
Fitch said the gains of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state-level elections would support implementation of policy priorities at the Centre.
Fitch, however, cautioned that the recent youth protests could put pressure on the government to hike spending on education-related measures, generation of jobs, including skill development.
“Recent protests, stemming from leaked medical exams, may point to rising concerns among youth over employment opportunities, risking fiscal spending pressures over time,” Fitch said.
Last month, students had staged a massive protest in the capital over paper leak in medical entrance exam NEET and demanded transparency in competitive exams. The protests and the subsequent police action on students have been raised by the Opposition in Parliament, disrupting its proceedings in the ongoing monsoon session.
Fitch said India’s economy has been resilient to shocks in recent years, a trend it expects to continue.
“There are residual risks from uncertainty related to the US-Iran conflict, given India’s position as large net energy importer position, but we do not expect a durable risk to growth prospects,” Fitch said.
India imports 87 per cent of its crude requirement, of which 46 per cent transits through or near the Strait of Hormuz, which is blocked on account of the US-Iran war which began on February 28.
Fitch said India’s rating reflects its robust growth outlook and solid external finance fundamentals.
A strengthening record of delivering macroeconomic stability and improving policy credibility should underpin continued robust growth and enhance economic resilience, despite near-term macroeconomic headwinds from the energy shock.
High growth should also support a sustained improvement in structural credit metrics and increase the likelihood that government debt will trend down, Fitch said.
In the FY27 Budget, the government estimated the debt-to-GDP ratio at 55.6 per cent of GDP, lower than 56.1 per cent of GDP in FY26.
The government has set a target to bring down its debt-to-GDP ratio to 50 per cent by March 2031.
Fitch estimates India’s medium potential GDP growth of 6.4 per cent, led by public capex, a private investment pick-up and favourable demographics.
It said India’s external finances remain solid, with a low current account deficit (CAD), net external creditor position and still high forex reserves. Fitch forecast a slight widening of CAD to 1.4 per cent of GDP in FY27 from 0.6 per cent in FY26, from the energy shock.
Fitch forecast reserves of USD 733 billion (7.4 months of external payments) by FY27 end. Capital outflows picked up in the June quarter of FY27, amid already subdued FDI and portfolio flows, but have reversed following the recent RBI and government measures. PTI JD JD VHI VHI
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