Govt spikes Moody's report, dubs it 'junior analyst's opinion'

The government on Wednesday noted "with regret" what it called irresponsible and distorted reporting by sections of the media, the personal opinion of a Junior Associate Economist of Moody’s Analytics on India’s outlook under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“It is surprising that sections of the Indian media failed to make a distinction between Moody’s Analytics, which is merely a data and analytics firm, and Moody’s Investor Services, which provides Ratings services,” an official statement said.

It said “it is also surprising that no due diligence was done and the readers were not informed about the difference between Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investor Services. Opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics has been splashed all across implying it is the opinion of Moody’s Analytics.”

The statement, which was issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting  on the orders of the PMO, charged that “personal opinion of a junior analyst was passed off as a commentary on India by a Rating Agency.”

The report had on last Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must keep BJP members in check or risk “losing domestic and global credibility”. Titled “India Outlook: Searching for Potential,” the report had said the Bihar polls could “prove pivotal to Modi’s leadership”.