India's external debt stood at $663.8 billion, marking a $39.7 billion rise from its level at the end of March 2023, according to the Reserve Bank of India's statement on Tuesday. Excluding valuation effects, the increase in external debt would have been $48.4 billion instead of $39.7 billion.
However, despite the increase, India's external debt-to-GDP ratio decreased to 18.7 per cent by the end of March 2024, down from 19 per cent at the end of March 2023. This ratio encompasses both government and non-government debts.
According to data from the central bank, the government's external debt amounted to 4.2 per cent of GDP, while the external debt of the non-government sector was recorded at 14.5 per cent.
The RBI said in its statement: "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).”
Furthermore, loans continued to constitute the largest component of India's external debt, accounting for 33.4 per cent of the total. This was followed by currency and deposits, making up 23.3 per cent, trade credit and advances at 17.9 per cent, and debt securities contributing 17.3 per cent to the overall external debt composition.
During the mentioned period, long-term debt (with an original maturity exceeding one year) amounted to $541.2 billion, reflecting a $45.6 billion increase compared to the previous year. Conversely, the proportion of short-term debt (with an original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt decreased to 18.5 per cent by the end of March 2024, down from 20.6 per cent at the end of March 2023.
Likewise, the short-term debt ratio (measured by original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves decreased to 19.0 per cent by the end of March 2024, down from 22.2 per cent recorded at the end of March 2023.