Even borrowing abroad, which hit a new record of $22 billion last year, will become costlier should India’s sovereign rating fall one run into junk territory. S&P Global Ratings warned last month that it might cut India’s ratings if economic growth doesn’t recover. A shallow recovery will probably only show up in the second half of the fiscal year that starts in April. Meanwhile, should the recent escalation of US-Iran tensions sustain oil prices at a high level in a weakening global economy, the loss of discretionary consumer spending at home and abroad could hurt India further.