India better prepared to handle any crisis: DK Mittal

NEW DELHI: It is not only the strong resilience of the Indian economy but also the cultural ethos of India that puts us in a better situation to handle any economic crisis then most Western nations, said Financial Services secretary DK Mittal.

""Sacrifice is one of the important values in our culture unlike some other nations where there is an individualistic culture and governments are finding it difficult to implement austerity packages,"" he said.

On the economic front, Mittal said that the government is keeping a close watch on the global financial situation and is well poised to handle any crisis.

""We have a crisis management group which meets regularly and look at all approaches to tackle any crisis,"" he said, adding that government is also working in tandem with the regulator.

Mittal said that the government also does not find any reason whatsoever that why Indian banks should be downgraded. ""The banks which have been downgraded, there is no reason for downgrade by rating agencies,"" said Mittal on the sidelines of an Assocham meet.

Fitch revised downward credit rating outlook of 12 financial agencies, including State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB). Earlier, it had lowered the credit outlook of the country from stable to negative.

Mittal said financial results of all banks for 2011-12 are out and ""there is nothing alarmist"".

The downward revision in outlook may result in increased cost of fund from overseas. The first to be affected may be the SBI which recently announced its plans to raise $ 2 billion from overseas market.

On loan re-structuring of power discos, Mittal said that the Power Ministry will take a final call on restructuring debt of power discoms, by taking approval of the competent authorities. ""Funds will flow to discoms as much as they have been restructured,"" he said.