NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's CreditWire 10/22/98 -- Standard & Poor's today lowered the Republic of India's long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to double-'B' from double-'B'-plus and its long-term local currency sovereign credit rating to triple-'B' from triple-'B'-plus. The short-term foreign currency rating of single-'B' was affirmed. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its 'A-3' short-term local currency rating to the republic. The outlook on the long-term ratings was changed to stable from negative. The downgrade reflects fading prospects for meaningful fiscal adjustment, weakening the sustainability of recent economic growth rates and potentially further raising the country's already high external debt burden. The consolidated government deficit (including state governments) is likely to remain around 8% of
