'S&P take on India has no traction in BRICS'

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Arvind Padmanabhan | 18 Jun, 2012
The warning of a ratings downgrade of India by Standard and Poor's neither impacts on its standing in BRICS, nor undermines its clout on the global high table, a top official said.

The official said India's influence can also be gauged by the talks US President Barack Obama held with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a day ago to discuss the Euro crisis, environment and bilateral matters.

"Standard and Poor's does not determine what we at BRICS think about each other," the official said, as Manmohan Singh headed for the G20 Summit in Mexico, where he is scheduled to also hold talks with BRICS leaders.

"They (S&P) have their own prism (of gauging an economy). But we remain a robust and a growing economy. That cannot be taken away," the official added.

His comments came as Manmohan Singh was set to meet Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South African President Jacob Zuma in the Mexican resort town of Los Cabos.

In his statement before leaving New Delhi for the G20 Summit, the prime minister had recalled the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in March this year and how the leaders had agreed to work collectively for the global good.

"BRICS countries have been the new growth poles of the global economy," he had said, adding that as the chair of the forum, he will host an informal BRICS meeting at Los Cabos.

Manmohan Singh, on an eight-day overseas visit since Saturday, is set to attend two back-to-back meetings over the next few days -- the G20 Summit on economy at Los Cabos and the Rio+20 Summit on environment at Rio de Janerio.

Significantly, during the background briefing by the senior official, the import of US president Barack Obama's talks over phone with the Indian prime minister was sought to be highlighted against the backdrop of the two summits.

"The two leaders exchanged views on a number of issues like the Eurozone crisis, how the global economy can be revived, how growth can be ensured and other bilateral matters," the official said.

"There was concern that the traditional drivers of the global economy are performing well," the official said even as emerging economies such as China and India were also experiencing a slowdown.