NO CASE for S&P ratings downgrade: Mayaram

There is no case for downgrading India's sovereign credit rating, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told the news channel ET Now on Monday, after Standard & Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on the country's credit rating.

The rating agency last week warned that India needed to follow through on implementing a slew of pending economic reforms, a warning that dealt a blow

to a government that had recently pitched for an upgrade.

The agency had also said that high fiscal and current account deficits remained a drag on India's rating, saying there was a higher than one-in-three chance of it downgrading the country to "junk" investment status.

Mayaram said the concerns over the pace of implementing economic reforms were "overstated", adding India's current account deficit and economic growth are likely to improve over the previous fiscal year.

(Reporting by; editing by Matthias Williams)