NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 19, 1999--The Indian budget to be announced Feb. 27, 1999 will provide an indication of whether the country's coalition government is able to address fundamental weaknesses in the economy, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today. "The budget will set the framework for economic activity in the coming year," says the article prepared by Joydeep Mukherji of Standard & Poor's Sovereign Ratings. The article appears in the next edition of Standard & Poor's CreditWeek. "Attention will be focused on the government's fiscal strategy, hitherto unsuccessful, and on policies for deregulation, public sector reform, and trade liberalization. India's current fiscal trajectory cannot sustain rapid economic growth without seriously increasing its vulnerability to balance of
