Fitch has cut its outlook for India's credit rating to negative, leaving the country at risk of falling into junk status.
The ratings agency scores India at BBB-, the lowest investment-grade credit rating. The negative outlook comes after Moody's this month downgraded India to Baa3, meaning that the three large international ratings agencies including S&P now rate the country one notch above junk.
Fitch said India's economy was likely to contract 5 per cent in the ongoing financial year, which could exacerbate its public-debt load. It said the disruption due to the pandemic and India's multi-month lockdown threatened longer-term damage to the economy's growth prospects.