After 18 years, S&P upgrades India's sovereign rating to BBB

NEW DELHI: Ratings agency S&P Global on Thursday raised India's sovereign rating to BBB after an 18-year gap, citing robust growth and fiscal consolidation, and asserted that 50% US tariffs, if imposed, would have an "overall marginal" impact and will not derail the country's long-term growth prospects.

The ratings upgrade comes amid a tense tariff stand-off between the US and India and comments by US President Donald Trump referring to India as a "dead economy".

S&P said India remains among the best performing economies in the world and staged a remarkable comeback from the pandemic, with GDP growth over fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2024 averaging 8.8%, the highest in Asia-Pacific. "We expect these growth dynamics to continue in the medium-term, with GDP increasing 6.8% annually over next three years. This has a moderating effect on govt debt-to-GDP ratio, despite still-wide fiscal deficits."

The move by the global ratings agency is expected to lift sentiment and help in maintaining investor interest for India, which remains the fastest growing major economy in the world. A rating of BBB, which is investment grade, indicates "adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions". S&P had last upgraded India's sovereign rating in Jan 2007 and is the second agency after DBRS to upgrade India this year.

"The ratings upgrade reaffirms that under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's leadership providing stability, India's economy is truly agile, active and resilient," the finance ministry said.

S&P Global said robust economic expansion is having a constructive effect on India's credit metrics, and asserted it expects sound economic fundamentals to underpin growth momentum over next two-to-three years.

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