Govt may redefine 'cash flow' to aid ratings of infrastructure firms

Even if a new rating agency were to lower the standards and make more receivables equivalent to cash flow, those are unlikely to become popular among banks

The government has given a sympathetic hearing to industrial groups that are unable to sell banks their debt paper with a rating lower than double A. 

The companies, mostly in the infrastructure sector, are unable to raise their ratings above A. They have asked the finance ministry to prod banks to buy debt paper more aggressively than they have done.

The problem is the companies’ cash flow. In response the ministry is considering an option to bring more elements in their balance sheets to be counted towards calculating their cash flow. In his Budget 2018-19, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealed to banks