India's external debt climbs to $663.8 billion in March 2024
India's external debt has seen a significant rise, reaching $663.8 billion at the end of March 2024, as per a statement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today. This figure indicates an increase of $39.7 billion compared to the same period last year. Despite this rise, India's external debt to GDP ratio experienced a slight dip from 19% in March 2023, to 18.7% in March 2024.
Breakdown of India's external debt composition
The RBI also provided a detailed breakdown of the composition of India's external debt. "US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India's external debt, with a share of 53.8% at end-March 2024, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (31.5%), yen (5.8%), SDR (5.4%), and euro (2.8%)," it stated in its report.
Types of external debt in India's portfolio
The RBI's report also shed light on the types of external debt that make up India's total. Loans were reported as the largest component, accounting for 33.4% of the total amount. This was followed by currency and deposits at 23.3%, trade credit and advances at 17.9%, and debt securities making up 17.3% of the total external debt.
