India, Feb. 7 -- Despite rising to become the world's fifth-largest economy from 12th position in the last 15 years (2008-23), with the second-highest growth rate recorded during the period among all peers, India's economy has remained stuck at the lowest investment grade, albeit with a stable outlook, assigned by the international credit rating agencies (CRAs) - that is, BBB- by Fitch and S&P, and Baa3 by Moody's. While an investment grade implies that low default risk on loan repayment, a lower rating, called a "speculative grade" signifies a high risk of default. The remarkable economic rise of India and its growing international heft have made no difference to the CRAs. As the first essay in a recently released collection titled "Re-e...