Global rating agency Fitch has maintained its growth forecast for India at 7.5 per cent this fiscal and sees higher growth over the next two financial years. However, 8 per cent growth will remain elusive in the short term.

The forecast is largely in line with the Finance Ministry’s growth estimates.

The Economic Survey had also said achieving 8 per cent growth may not be possible in the short run.

Higher real disposable income, a normal monsoon and a substantial wage increase for central government employees will support economic recovery in the next two financial years, the ratings agency said, while underlining the need for structural reforms.

Fitch also pitched for monetary policy easing.

Fitch expects another 25 bps of monetary policy loosening, facilitated by the government’s recent announcement to maintain its fiscal targets for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

About Fitch Ratings:

• Fitch Ratings Inc. is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975, together with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, and the three are commonly known as the “Big Three credit rating agencies”.
• Fitch Ratings is dual-headquartered in New York, USA, and London, UK.
• Fitch Ratings’ long-term credit ratings are assigned on an alphabetic scale from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’, first introduced in 1924 and later adopted and licensed by S&P. (Moody’s also uses a similar scale, but names the categories differently.) Like S&P, Fitch also uses intermediate +/- modifiers for each category between AA and CCC (e.g., AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, BBB+, BBB, BBB-, etc.).
• Fitch Learning is a financial services training and development firm. Previously named 7city Learning, it was acquired by Fitch Group in January 2013.