FM cites unblemished track record of fiscal consolidation

Moody's rules out an immediate upgrade of India's sovereign rating

- PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday flaunted India's unblemished track record of not faltering on any of its fiscal consolidation or debt reduction targets as she seemed to shrug off the passiveness of agencies like Moody's which have not upgraded India's ratings.

Sitharaman in her budget for fiscal year beginning April treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth as she not only gave the middle class the biggest-ever tax relief but also unveiled a glide path for reducing fiscal deficit next year and debt as percentage of GDP by 2031.

India, she said, had to borrow more during the pandemic to meet the fiscal needs of the economy amid global challenges, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical conflicts in two theatres.