It’s the last thing India’s stricken credit markets need: a record debt bill. Companies must repay an unprecedented Rs 5.9 trillion of local notes this year, just as corporate defaults spike. Many firms are already struggling after economic growth slumped to its weakest since 2009.
That’s putting India behind China, Indonesia and a few others in the region. Credit market scares have impeded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to revive growth. Chief among the problems is a lingering crisis at non-banking financial company that started in 2018, with a shocking default by then high-rated lender IL&FS. The woes mounted last year