After 13 years, Moody’s upgrades India’s Credit Ratings

Insight Bureau: Love him or hate him. You can’t ignore him. Under fire and at the receiving end due to some of his economic policies, including Demonetisation and GST, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got something to smile and hit out at his critics, as the Moody’s Investors Service raised India’s sovereign rating for the first time since 2004.

The global ratings firm upgraded India to Baa2 from Baa3 and expressed confidence that reforms pushed through by Modi Govt will help stabilize rising levels of debt. The latest development came as a big boost to PM Modi’s development agenda as well as party’s prospects in Gujarat Assembly polls.

“While India’s high debt burden remains a constraint on the country’s credit profile, Moody’s believes that the reforms put in place have reduced the risk of a sharp increase in debt, even in potential downside scenarios,” said the firm’s release.

Even the World Bank has already acknowledged that it has become easier to do business in India, which jumped 30 places in the Ease of Doing Business index to reach 100 in this year’s rankings. Earlier this week, the Pew Research Center said PM Modi remains a popular leader and public confidence in the economy has drastically improved.