Fitch, Moody’s and S&P have been unfair to India: Piyush Goyal

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 27, 2026 09:47 AM IST

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that global rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor have been unfair to India and that Mumbai-based rating agency CareEdge has done their job extremely objectively.

“So far, we only had Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor, and I can say on record that they have been unfair to India. They have not recognised the India growth story, the strong India fundamentals, and the Indian capability and future, and captured it as much as a rating agency should have done. I will not cast any motives to it, but I do express surprise.

“I think what CareEdge has done is do their job extremely objectively. They have assessed much weaker economies than India, with absolutely no future, to whom other agencies have given better ratings than India, for reasons best known to them,” said Goyal at an industry event in the UK.

Goyal launched several reports during the industry event, including ‘Indian Roots British Soil’ by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a UK India Business Council (UKIBC) manual on India-UK FTA, a report by CareEdge, India’s ratings agency, and a report by FICCI on the evolution of the bilateral partnership.

Moody’s has a Baa3 rating on India – the lowest investment grade rating – with a stable outlook. In April, the rating agency had lowered India’s GDP growth forecast to 6% from 6.8% for 2026-27. At 6%, the agency’s growth forecast is lower than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) projection of 6.9%.

The Indian government has over the last several years aggressively pursued the three global agencies — S&P, Moody’s Ratings, and Fitch Ratings — for higher ratings that, in its opinion, better reflect the economy’s fundamentals.

New Delhi has repeatedly expressed its displeasure over the agencies’ methodologies, saying they were biased against emerging economies. The Economic Survey for 2020-21 even had a chapter titled ‘Does India’s Sovereign Credit Rating reflect its fundamentals No!’.

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A credit rating is nothing more than a measure of an entity’s creditworthiness, or how likely it is that they may pay back borrowed money. If you repay loans and credit card bills on time and in full, your credit score improves. It is the same for countries.

Most countries need to borrow money every year to fund some of their expenditures. The difference between the total income and the expenditure for a year is the fiscal deficit; the Indian government’s is Rs 15.69 lakh crore for 2025-26. This has to be met by borrowing money from the markets, with the government paying interest on it. Now, if the government is seen as being more likely to repay the loan, which is what a higher credit rating indicates, the rate of interest is lower.

(With PTI inputs)

Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, specializing in economic policy and financial regulations. With over five years of experience in business journalism, he provides critical coverage of the frameworks that govern India's commercial landscape.

Expertise & Focus Areas: Mishra’s reporting concentrates on the intersection of government policy and market operations. His core beats include:

Trade & Commerce: Analysis of India's import-export trends, trade agreements, and commercial policies.

Banking & Finance: Covering regulatory changes and policy decisions affecting the banking sector.

Professional Experience: Prior to joining The Indian Express, Mishra built a robust portfolio working with some of India's leading financial news organizations. His background includes tenures at:

Mint

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This diverse experience across both print and broadcast media has equipped him with a holistic understanding of financial storytelling and news cycles.

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