India’s external debt surges 12% to $529 billion in Q4FY18

02 Jul 2018 Evaluate

India’s external debt surged 12.24 percent to $529 billion during January-March quarter (Q4FY18) as compared to $471.3 billion reported for the corresponding period of 2017. The rise in external debt was mainly due to the increase in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits.

As per the data furnished by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the increase in the magnitude of external debt was partly due to valuation loss resulting from the depreciation of the US dollar against major currencies. It also noted that the external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 20.5 percent at end-March 2018, higher than its level of 20.0 percent at end-March 2017.

The data also showed that debt service payments dropped to 7.5 percent of current receipts at end-March 2018 as compared with 8.3 percent at end-March 2017. It further highlighted that commercial borrowings with a share of 38.2% is the largest component of external debt, followed by NRI deposits with 23.8% and short-term trade credit with 19.0%.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×