Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves have increased further. Reserve Bank of India released the latest reserve data on March 1. It shows that at the end of the week, Indiaโs reserves increased by 6.55 billion US dollars. As a result, the countryโs total reserves stood at 62 thousand 5 billion (625 billion) dollars.
Citing data from the Reserve Bank of India, Hindustan Times reported that the increase in Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves last week was significant. The countryโs overall reserves rose by $2.97 billion in the previous reporting week. And last week the reserves increased by 6.55 billion dollars. That is, the reserve has increased by 120 percent compared to the previous week.
In October 2021, India had total reserves of $645 billion. This is the countryโs highest reserve ever. However, due to global economic pressure, Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves continue to decrease from 2022.
In August last year, Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves fell below 600 billion or 600 billion US dollars. Analysts said import costs increased at that time. Apart from this, the RBI sells dollars in the market to maintain the value of the rupee as the dollar exchange rate increases. Basically due to these reasons, the countryโs reserves are slightly reduced. However, overall reserves of Indiaโs central bank increased by 58 billion dollars in 2023.
Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves currently stand at USD 554.23 billion. Apart from this, the effect of increase or depreciation of Euro, Pound and Yen is also affecting Indiaโs reserves. On the other hand, gold reserves in India rose by $569 million to $48.41 billion last week. Special Drawing Rights (SDR) decreased by 17 million to 18.18 billion.
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According to Hindustan Times, the ongoing rise in Indiaโs foreign exchange reserves is indicative of the countryโs economic stability in the global context. Indiaโs gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.4 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year 2023-24 in October-December. Analysts say the countryโs GDP growth is due to higher growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors as well as increased demand in the domestic market. However, economists had earlier predicted a growth of 6.6 percent to 7 percent in the Indian economy in the third quarter.