As you have rightly said in your edit “Much to account for” (December 23), after the recent experiences, it will be a tough job for major credit rating agencies of the world to recapture their own credibility. This is a healthy impact of globalisation. It is slowly dawning on those who were used to serving only one master, the United States, that there is a world outside capable of checking their homework.
This is an opportune time for India to think in terms of setting up a rating agency of international standard that will advise stakeholders about the health of domestic financial institutions and the financial institutions and governments abroad with which India has dealings. Agencies like Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s are doing their work within their limitations and even they would be benefited if an internationally-acceptable rating agency comes into being in India.
Also, we have to learn to read beyond the glossy marketing literature in the form of draft agreements and treaties supplied at international forums to understand what is best for our own economic development. Instead of always depending on the expertise of the developed world, we should spend more time and resources on study and research to improve our own skills and capabilities. Self-reliance is not a bad word.
M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram
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