The stock of external debt at end-March 2024 as well as revised data for earlier quarters are set out in Statements I (IMF format[1]) and II (old format). The major developments relating to India’s external debt as at end-March 2024 are presented below. Highlights At end-March 2024, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 663.8 billion, an increase of US$ 39.7 billion over its level at end-March 2023 (Table 1).
The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.7 per cent at end-March 2024 from 19.0 per cent at end-March 2023.
Valuation effect due to the appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the Indian rupee and other major currencies such as yen, the euro and SDR[2] amounted to US$ 8.7 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, external debt would have increased by US$ 48.4 billion instead of US$ 39.7 billion at end-March 2024 over end-March 2023.
At end-March 2024, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 541.2 billion, recording an increase of US$ 45.6 billion over its level at end-March 2023.
The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt declined to 18.5 per cent at end-March 2024 from 20.6 per cent at end-March 2023. Similarly, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves declined to 19.0 per cent at end-March 2024 (22.2 per cent at end-March 2023).
Short-term debt on residual maturity basis (i.e., debt obligations that include long-term debt by original maturity falling due over the next twelve months and short-term debt by original maturity) constituted 42.9 per cent of total external debt at end-March 2024 (44.0 per cent at end-March 2023) and stood at 44.1 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (47.4 per cent at end-March 2023) (Table 2).
US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.8 per cent at end-March 2024, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (31.5 per cent), yen (5.8 per cent), SDR (5.4 per cent), and euro (2.8 per cent).

Today, the Reserve Bank of India released balance of payments (BoP) data for the fourth quarter (Q4), i.e., January-March 2023-24 on its website (www.rbi.org.in). On the basis of these data, the sources of variation in foreign exchange reserves during 2023-24 are detailed below in Table 1. Table 1: Sources of Variation in Foreign Exchange Reserves* (US$ billion) Items 2022-23 2023-24 I. Current Account Balance -67.1 -23.3 II. Capital Account (net) (a to f) 57.9 87.0 a. Foreign Investment (i+ii) 22.8 53.9 (i) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 28.0 9.8 (ii)Portfolio Investment -5.2 44.1 

Preliminary data on India’s balance of payments (BoP) for the fourth quarter (Q4), i.e., January-March 2023-24, are presented in Statements I and II. Key Features of India’s BoP in Q4:2023-24 India’s current account balance recorded a surplus of US$ 5.7 billion (0.6 per cent of GDP) in Q4:2023-24 as against a deficit of US$ 8.7 billion (1.0 per cent of GDP) in Q3:2023-24 and US$ 1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) a year ago [i.e., Q4:2022-23] . The merchandise trade deficit at US$ 50.9 billion in Q4:2023-24 was lower than US$ 52.6 billion a year ago. Preliminary data on India’s balance of payments (BoP) for the fourth quarter (Q4), i.e., January-March 2023-24, are presented in Statements I and II. Key Features of India’s BoP in Q4:2023-24 India’s current account balance recorded a surplus of US$ 5.7 billion (0.6 per cent of GDP) in Q4:2023-24 as against a deficit of US$ 8.7 billion (1.0 per cent of GDP) in Q3:2023-24 and US$ 1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) a year ago [i.e., Q4:2022-23] . The merchandise trade deficit at US$ 50.9 billion in Q4:2023-24 was lower than US$ 52.6 billion a year ago.

1. Reserve Bank of India - Liabilities and Assets* (₹ Crore) Item 2023 2024 Variation Jun. 16 Jun. 7 Jun. 14 Week Year 1 2 3 4 5 4 Loans and Advances 4.1 Central Government 0 0 0 0 0 4.2 State Governments 7480 28204 7994 -20209 514 * Data are provisional; difference, if any, is due to rounding off.  

The Reserve Bank of India has launched the 2023-24 round of its Survey on International Trade in Banking Services (ITBS). The survey, conducted annually since 2006-07, provides information on financial services rendered by branches/subsidiaries/joint ventures of Indian banks operating abroad and branches/subsidiaries of foreign banks operating in India, based on explicit / implicit fees / commission charged to customers. The survey schedule for the 2023-24 round is required to be filled in by the banks for branches/subsidiaries/joint venture of Indian banks operating abroad and branches/subsidiaries of foreign banks operating in India. The soft form of this survey schedule (both in Hindi and English – one of which can be used) is available on the RBI website under the head ‘Regulatory Reporting’-→ ‘List of Returns’-→ ‘ITBS – Survey Schedule’ [or under the head ‘Forms’ (available under the ‘More Links’ at the bottom of the home page) and sub-head ‘Survey’]. Duly filled-in schedule can be emailed by July 31, 2024.

The uniform resource locator (URL) domain address of the ‘Database on Indian Economy (DBIE)’ portal of the Reserve Bank is being changed to https://data.rbi.org.in with effect from close of business today (June 21, 2024). The current URLs, viz., https://dbie.rbi.org.in and https://cimsdbie.rbi.org.in will also get directed to the new URL https://data.rbi.org.in.

The Reserve Bank has today released data on Reserve Money for the week ended June 14, 2024.

Today, the Reserve Bank released the June 2024 issue of its monthly Bulletin. The Bulletin includes three speeches, three articles, and current statistics. The three articles are: I. State of the Economy; II. Financial Stocks and Flow of Funds of the Indian Economy 2021-22; and III. India’s Deposit Insurance @60: Retrospect and Prospect.

1. Reserve Bank of India - Liabilities and Assets* (₹ Crore) Item 2023 2024 Variation Jun. 9 May 31 Jun. 7 Week Year 1 2 3 4 5 4 Loans and Advances 4.1 Central Government 0 0 0 0 0 4.2 State Governments 18267 10723 28204 17480 9936 * Data are provisional; difference, if any, is due to rounding off.

The Reserve Bank of India has today released the data on External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) and Rupee Denominated Bonds (RDB) both, through Automatic Route and Approval Route, for the month of April 2024.