Rogers shorts India on fears of stagnant growth

Veteran investor Jim Rogers is shorting Indian stocks in the view the country’s high level of debt will cause growth to stagnate, he told CNBC.

Speaking at the Asia Business Leaders Awards in Singapore, Rogers said he expects India's high debt to GDP ratio, which stands at over 90%, to hamper growth.

Comments from Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the head of India's Planning Commission, seem to support this view.

He told CNBC the Indian economy is likely to grow between 7% and 7.5% in the fiscal year ending March 2012, undershooting the government's original target of 9%-9.5%.

The Bombay Stock Exchange fell to a two-year low at the close of trading yesterday at 15,858, a 24% drop since the beginning of the year, while the rupee dropped 17% in value against the dollar, an all-time low.

Investors have dumped the rupee as the currency looked vulnerable to a swelling account deficit and concerns the eurozone crisis will spread to the global economy, CNBC reports.