India's ratings to depend on next govt's fiscal policies, says Standard and Poor's

Standard and Poor's (S&P) may upgrade India's outlook if the government that is elected next month addresses some of the country's fiscal and economic challenges through steps such as passing a goods and services tax (GST).

"If in the future they implement policies that effectively addresses some of the credit weaknesses that I have highlighted, we could revise the outlook to stable again," said S&P senior director Kim Eng Tan in a webcast. "In the absence of effective policy action, we could lower the ratings on the sovereign," he added.

S&P rates India at "BBB-minus" and is the only of the three major credit agencies to have a "negative" outlook.

(Reuters)