Global ratings agency Fitch Wednesday revised India's sovereign credit outlook to stable from negative, taking note of the government's efforts to contain the budget deficit, dpa reported. Fitch affirmed the rating at BBB- a year after a downgrade. The decision is likely to be welcome news for Asia's third-largest economy, which is suffering from a record-low rupee and the slowest growth rate in a decade. "The revision of the outlook to stable reflects the measures taken by the government to contain the budget deficit, including the commitments made in the financial year 2014 budget, as well as some, albeit limited, progress in addressing some of the structural impediments to investment and economic growth," the agency said. It noted that the fiscal deficit was 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the last financial year ending March, compared with 5.7 per cent in the previous year. Fitch said it expected the economy to recover after India's GDP grew 5 per cent in 2012-2013 compared to 6.2 per cent a year ago. The recovery was however expected to remain slow until a healthier investment climate was created, it said. "As a result, Fitch is forecasting only a modest recovery with real GDP expected to expand 5.7 per cent and 6.5 per cent in financial year 2014 and 2015 respectively," Fitch said.
