At the end of its week-long visit to India, global rating agency Standard & Poor's said the country is experiencing the politics of growth.
"It's no longer the politics of caste or community. It's the politics of growth. Every party is talking about economic growth. That shows the maturity (of politicians)," said Paul Coughlin, S&P's managing director for corporate and government ratings in the Asia-Pacific region.
A revision of India's rating, if any, will take place after the elections, once the shape of the new government is known.
The timing of the team's visit is significant. It came during the run-up to the general elections to see whether the attitude of politicians and businessmen had changed or not.
More than the economic data, what surprised members of the S&P team -- Coughlin and Ping Chew, director, sovereign and international public finance ratings -- is the changing face of politics in India.
"The India story is an incredibly interesting one. To some extent, it was overshadowed by China in the past. But things have changed dramatically over the last six months," Coughlin said.
"Earlier, there used to be a lot of talk. There was good intent but not much action. Targets were not met and promises were not honoured. Now, the government is implementing its plans. The tax reforms are more realistic. Things are also looking up in the power sector. Five years ago, not too many people thought India could be world beaters. But now the country seems to be confident," he said.
Coughlin also said in the past one of the key factors holding Indian corporates back had been their pre-occupation with carving a piece out of a very small Indian pie. That has changed, he said, as Indian companies have now realised they can benefit from globalisation.
In December last year, S&P revised the outlook on India's long-term foreign currency ratings from negative to stable, but left the rating unchanged at the sub-investment 'BB' grade.
Another global rating agency, Moody's Investor Services, in January raised India's foreign currency rating to investment grade 'Baa3', from 'Ba1'.
This time, the S&P team held discussions with the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, the Planning Commission and a few other government ministries and saw what the Nagpur Municipal Corporation had achieved. It also visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the sprawling Reliance Infocomm premises over the week.
"The views expressed in every quarter are the same: this is an opportunity. The culture of business and politics has changed," said Coughlin.
India's weakness, however, remains its fiscal situation. The fiscal deficit is growing and public sector debt is very high. "After all, a rating reflects the creditworthiness of the government," Chew said.
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