SINGAPORE (Standard&Poor's) March 2, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that India's 2015-2016 budget highlights the government's commitment to keeping the fiscal deficit low despite lower-than-expected revenue growth. This commitment moderates the drag on sovereign credit support posed by the relatively heavy general government debt burden in India. Nevertheless, the debt burden and large budgetary subsidies could constrain the speed of improvements in India's credit metrics. The Indian government (BBB-/Stable/A-3) expects the fiscal deficit for the fiscal year ending March 2015 to meet its target of 4.1% of GDP. Non-debt revenue for the year is likely to be lower by more than 7% compared with the initial budget estimate, largely reflecting weak tax collection and lower-than-expected divestment/disinvestment
