GOVT SEES NO PRESSURE ON INDIA’S RATINGS

MUMBAI: India's sovereign rating should not come under pressure due to surge in fiscal deficit which was mainly on account of higher expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, said Economic Affairs Secretar y Tarun Bajaj.

Given the credibility of the numbers projected in the Budget, he hoped that the global rating agencies would retain India's sovereign rating at the existing levels.

As per the latest Budget numbers, India's fiscal deficit is estimated to be 9.5 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal and is expected to come down to 6.8 per cent in 2021-22 beginning April 1.

Due to the pandemic there was moderation in tax collection and an increase in government expenditure resulting in higher borrowing of Rs 12.8 lakh crore from the market.