India's public finances remain a weakness for credit profile, Fitch analyst says

MUMBAI: India's fiscal deficit targets are achievable but the government's financial metrics still remain a weakness for the South Asian nation's credit profile compared to peers, an analyst at Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday.

"Lowering of the deficit target to 4.9% from 5.1% of GDP is a clear signal of the government's commitment to deficit reduction," Jeremy Zook, director - Asia sovereign ratings, told Reuters. "In our view, this seems relatively achievable."

During Tuesday's annual budget, India's government announced plans to spend $24 billion to create jobs over the next five years and $32 billion on rural development this year alone.