Moody’s Upgrades Modi’s Rating

Against the rising embarrassment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monumental blunders on demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST), the news of Moody’s Investor Services upgrading India’s sovereign rating from Baa3 to Baa2 has come as a shot in the arm for the beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It managed to stop media discussions on the ill effects of demonetisation a year after its introduction and instead, made them carry government advertisements presenting curious figures as evidence for cleansing the economy of black money. Moody’s has suddenly boosted the BJP’s sagging morale. In its characteristic style, the BJP went on to claim what Moody’s did not mean. Amit Shah declared that Moody’s rating had vindicated Modi’s good work as India’s Prime Minister. Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley hailed the rating, affirming that “it was an evidence of the unparalleled good work done by the Narendra Modi-led government.” Capping the hyperbole, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal predicted that India was entering a “golden era of growth and prosperity.”

Moody’s upgrade came close on the heels of another certificate from the United States (US). On 31 October 2017, the World Bank pushed India up 30 places from its previous ranking of 130 in its annual “Ease of Doing Business Report.” India stood out as one of the top 10 improved economies, including El Salvador, Malawi, Nigeria, and Thailand. Not to be ignored, another Washington DC-based global agency, the Pew Research Center declared a few days later that Modi had an enviable 90% approval rating. It was followed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde certifying that the Indian economy is “on solid track.” One wonders at the timing of all these superlatives just ahead of the Gujarat elections that potentially pose a formidable challenge to Modi on his home turf, with practically all major non-Muslim communities (represented by Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mewani and Alpesh Thakor) being openly against him.