Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said global rating agencies Fitch, Moody's, and S&P have been unfair to India and have not adequately recognized the India growth story, strong fundamentals, and the sovereign's capabilities. He made the remarks during a visit to the United Kingdom, where he attended the Business Plenary Session and interacted with industry leaders and stakeholders to discuss opportunities for trade, investment, and economic growth, according to the minister's statements reported by ET Retail.
Criticism of Global Rating Agencies
Goyal stated on record that Fitch, Moody's, and Standard & Poor's have been unfair to India. "They have not recognized the India growth story, the strong India fundamentals, and the sovereign's capabilities--the Indian capability and future--and captured it as much as a rating agency should have done," he said. He added that he would not cast any motives but expressed surprise at their assessments. CareEdge, an Indian rating agency, was praised by Goyal for doing its job extremely objectively, assessing much weaker economies with absolutely no future to which other agencies had given better ratings than India. He noted that 22 country ratings around the world have been changed to converge with CareEdge's findings, calling it a matter of deep pride for every Indian. "In fact, I almost believe that we must support the Indian effort to bring objectivity to ratings," he added.
Trade and Economic Growth with the UK
The Union Minister called for ramping up exports to the United Kingdom, stating that there is a lot of potential and a need for India to have a larger market share. He highlighted the opportunities arising from the forthcoming implementation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on July 15. Goyal stressed collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships as a way to move faster, and spoke of the need to have high growth ambition and work accordingly.
"I do believe that what we will seize now will become very valuable. Very often in our cosy comfort, we lose track, time passes by. And then we get into the typical rut of claiming success when we have 5, 7, or 10% growth. International trade normally grows at 4 to 6%, or 5%. If that is the kind of level of ambition that we will keep as a nation, it'll be completely a betrayal of the trust that the world has in us today," he said.
CareEdge Rating Report and Objectivity
Goyal referred to the CareEdge rating report and appreciated its team for their work. He contrasted CareEdge's objectivity with the unfairness he attributed to global agencies. The minister noted that CareEdge has assessed economies with no future more favorably than India, while other agencies gave them better ratings. The revision of 22 country ratings to align with CareEdge demonstrates a shift toward objectivity, according to Goyal.
| Entity | Role/Context |
|---|---|
| Piyush Goyal | Commerce and Industry Minister, India |
| Fitch, Moody's, S&P | Global rating agencies criticized |
| CareEdge | Indian rating agency praised |
| India-UK CETA | Agreement effective July 15 |
| 22 country ratings | Changed to converge with CareEdge findings |
The minister's remarks underscore India's push for a fairer assessment of its economic potential and a stronger trade relationship with the UK through the upcoming CETA. For importers and exporters, the implementation of CETA signals lower barriers and new opportunities in bilateral trade, while the debate over sovereign ratings may influence risk perception and financing costs for trade transactions.
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