|
Reserve Bank of India reported today that India’s external debt totaled US$ 778.2 billion as of end-June 2026, reflecting a rise of US$ 15.4 billion compared to the level recorded at end-March 2026. The external debt to GDP ratio decreased to 20.8 per cent at end-June 2026 from 20.9 per cent at end-March 2026. Valuation gains, resulting from the strengthening of the US dollar against major currencies including the Yen and Euro, reached US$ 0.9 billion. Absent the valuation impact, external debt would have risen by US$ 16.4 billion instead of US$ 15.4 billion from end-March 2026 to end-June 2026.
At end-June 2026, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) totaled US$ 624.7 billion, reflecting a rise of US$ 11.2 billion compared to the level at end-March 2026. The proportion of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt advanced to 19.7 per cent at end-June 2026 from 19.6 per cent at end-March 2026. Concurrently, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 23.0 per cent at end-June 2026 (21.6 per cent at end-March 2026).
Short-term debt, calculated on a residual maturity basis—encompassing long-term obligations maturing within the next twelve months and original short-term debt—represented 43.4 per cent of aggregate external debt as of June 2026 (42.9 per cent as of March 2026) and accounted for 50.5 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (47.3 per cent as of March 2026) (Table 2).
India’s external debt was primarily comprised of US dollar-denominated obligations, representing 54.8 per cent as of June 2026, followed by Indian rupee-denominated debt (29.8 per cent), Yen (6.9 per cent), SDR2 (4.1 per cent), and Euro (3.5 per cent).
|