India expects global rating agency Moody’s to upgrade the sovereign ratings of the Asian nation that is stuck in the lowest-possible investment grade, a finance ministry official said today.

Finance ministry officials today met senior executives of Moody’s as they were looking to push for an upgrade in the rating backed by a robust growth outlook, moderating inflationary pressure, and other strong macroeconomic gauges.

India’s key officials discussed borrowing, disinvestment targets, and state budgets with Moody’s today, the finance ministry official, who didn’t wish to be named.

Consultations and reviews between governments and rating agencies are commonplace. Nonetheless, like in previous instances, the meeting between FinMin officials and Moody’s on Friday is unlikely to bear fruit, Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, had told ET Online.

Moody’s has retained its sovereign rating for India at the lowest investment grade of “Baa3” with a “stable” outlook.
Moody’s on Thursday said the key factors for India’s fiscal strength and credit profile will be debt affordability and projected a downward trend for the debt burden. “As long as nominal GDP growth holds, India’s debt burden will be stable or decline slightly,” Moody’s said.

Earlier this year, the ministry had held similar meetings with two other global rating agencies– Fitch and S&P. However, both maintained such ratings for India at the same level–“BBB-” with a “stable” outlook– in their May reviews.

Ratings play a significant role in how global investors gauge the country’s creditworthiness and also impact borrowing costs. The ratings hold importance for Indian companies that wish to borrow money from overseas, as it is believed by many that the rating of a company cannot be better than its country.