New Delhi

In a boost to the Indian economy, Moody's Investors Service upgraded its estimate of gross domestic product growth in 2024 to as high as 7.2 per cent from 6.8 per cent. This upgrade reflects the confidence in the resilience of India's economy and the expected rebound in private consumption by the agency. This statement was issued on August 29, 2024, and is likely to encourage investor sentiment in the country. 

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Brief history of Moody's ratings 

Moody's Ratings, commonly called Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, is the company's traditional line of business and also the historical name. 

The Moody's Rating enables global financial research into bonds issued by both commercial and government entities. In layman's terms, Moody's is one of the Big Three, along with Standard & Poor's and Fitch Group, a credit rating agency. It was also among the Fortune 500 in the listing of 2021. 

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What does Moody's do? 

It appraises the creditworthiness of the debtors by a standard ratings scale normally applied to measure expected investor loss in case of a default. Moody's Rating has rated debt securities in several segments of bond markets. 

These include Government, Municipal and Corporate Bonds; Managed Investments, such as Money Market Funds and Fixed-Income Funds; Financial Institutions, including Banks and Non-bank Finance Companies; and Asset Classes in Structured Finance. 

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In Moody's Rating, securities are rated from AAA to C, in which AAA is assigned to the securities with extremely low expectation of default and regarded as being of the highest quality. Issues rated C represent the lowest rated class and are either in default or very close to it, with little to no prospect for recovery. 

Key indications by Moody's pointing towards the strong economy of India:

• Increased Private Consumption: Strong private consumption was recorded by the rating agency and is believed to help pace the economic growth. Spending is foreseen to be further increased with improved consumer confidence, boosting the economy.

• Resilient Economic Performance: The 7.8 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2024 abetted an exceedingly strong start for India. It has brought into view the relative resilience of the country in overcoming adversities posed by the global economy. 

• Moderating Inflation: There was the point, too, wherein the rating agency observed that the rate of inflation was stabilising, a sure factor in sustaining purchasing power and consumer spending. A stable environment for inflation invites investment and economic activity. 

It further revised upwards the growth forecast for 2025 to 6.6 percent from an earlier estimate of 6.4 percent for the year following the election cycle. This indicates sustained momentum of the Indian economy, reflecting continued structural reforms and a global economic environment that has been propitious for the country. 

Further, it projects global growth to stabilise at 2.7 per cent in 2024 and 2.5 per cent in 2025, respectively, from 3.0 per cent in 2023. Even with the global outlook possibly decelerating, India's economic fundamentals remain strong. 

Investor Takeaway 

The only thing that might be expected to bring more and more foreign investment to India is an improved growth forecast, considering the desire of investors to take part in a fast-growing economy. Similarly, in any country, good perceptions regarding the prospects of its economy might lead to speculations that in turn increase capital inflows into that country, boosting its financial stability.