India’s total external debt rose 2.8% year-on-year to $558.5 billion as on March 31, 2020, mainly due to a rise commercial borrowings, according to a finance ministry report.
The external debt stood at $543 billion at the end of March 2019.
According to ‘India’s External Debt: A Status Report: 2019-2020’
- The ratio of foreign currency reserves to external debt stood at 85.5% in FY20.
- External debt as a percentage of GDP rose to 20.6% in FY20 from 19.8% a year ago.
- Sovereign debt shrank 3% year-on-year to $100.9 billion in FY20 as FIIs’ holding in government securities fell 23.3% year-on-year to $21.6 billion. Loans from multi-lateral and bilateral sources under external assistance grew 4.9% year-on-year to $87.2 billion.
- Non-sovereign debt rose 4.2% to $457.7 billion in FY20 as commercial borrowings increased by 6.7% to $220.3 billion. Outstanding NRI deposits remained steady at…