Moody's India Upgrade Seen Boosting Modi Amid Growth Slowdown
- Ratings agency surprises with first India upgrade in 14 years
- But vote of confidence comes amid growth slowdown, criticism
Moody's Upgrades India For First Time Since 2004
India’s longer-term financial health received a vote of confidence at a time when the government’s economic policies are facing criticism and growth has slipped to levels last seen in 2014.
In a development that could help Prime Minister Narendra Modi consolidate his popularity, Moody’s Investors Service raised India’s sovereign rating for the first time in 14 years on Friday, offering a political victory to Modi and his at-times-controversial reform agenda. The praise for India’s new goods and services tax and efforts to reduce the size of the informal economy gives the prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party a boost ahead of a crucial election in his home state of Gujarat next month and their re-election bid in 2019.