Standard and Poor’s (S&P) on Friday forecast a spike in India’s debt levels to 90.6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21 from 73.4% a year before, although the global rating agency retained the country’s long-term sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of ‘BBB-‘, with a stable outlook. With this, S&P joins its peer Moody’s and some others in predicting a steeper slide in India’s fiscal metrics this year, as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc. Moody’s has also forecast that India’s debt-to-GDP ratio will worsen to 90.1% in FY21, before improving a tad to 88.5% in FY22. For its part, S&P sees India’s debt level easing only marginally to 89% of GDP next fiscal.