Budget shows commitment to keep fiscal deficit low: S&P

March 02, 2015 09:44 am | Updated June 01, 2016 12:35 am IST - MUMBAI

FILE - This Oct. 9, 2011 file photo shows 55 Water Street, home of Standard & Poor's, in New York. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, the U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis. The charges would mark the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency involving the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

FILE - This Oct. 9, 2011 file photo shows 55 Water Street, home of Standard & Poor's, in New York. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, the U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis. The charges would mark the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency involving the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

India's budget for 2015/16 highlighted the government's commitment to keeping the fiscal deficit low, ratings agency Standard and Poor's said, adding that the country's debt burden and subsidy bill could constrain its ratings.

"India's 2015-2016 budget highlights the government's commitment to keeping the fiscal deficit low despite lower-than-expected revenue growth," S&P said in a statement on Monday.

"This commitment moderates the drag on sovereign credit support posed by the relatively heavy general government debt burden in India," it added. "Nevertheless, the debt burden and large budgetary subsidies could constrain the speed of improvements in India's credit metrics."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announced a budget that put boosting growth before painful reforms, slowing the pace of fiscal deficit cuts and seeking to put domestic and foreign capital to work.

S&P currently rates India at "BBB-minus", its lowest investment grade rating, with a "Stable" outlook.

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