Foreign-exchange reserves of India

The Reserve Bank of India Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 set the legal provisions for governing the foreign exchange reserves. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) accumulates foreign currency reserves by purchasing from authorized dealers in open market operations. Foreign exchange reserves of India act as a cushion against rupee volatility once global interest rates start rising. The Foreign Exchange Reserves of India consists of below four categories; • Foreign Currency Assets - Total FCA till March 2021 was $536.69 billion out of which $359.87 billion is invested in overseas securities, $153.39 billion is deposited with other central banks and $23.42 (4.36 percent of total FCA) billion is deposited with overseas commercial banks. • Gold - As of March 2021, the RBI held 695.31 metric tonnes of gold. 403.01 metric tonnes of which is in custody of Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements. 292.30 tonnes of gold is held domestically. • Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) • Reserve Tranche Position ==Statistics==

• In 1960, forex reserves covered just 8.6 weeks of imports • In 1980, India had foreign exchange reserves of over US$7 billion, more than double the level (U$2.55 billion) of what China had at that time. • In June 2020, India's foreign exchange reserves crossed the US$500 billion mark for the first time. • In June 2021, India's foreign exchange reserves crossed the US$600 billion mark for the first time. • India's total forex reserves touched an all-time high of US$642.453 billion on 8 September 2021. The reserves declined to $598.89 billion by 8 September 2023 & rose to hit a fresh all time high of $642.63 in March 2024. • India's total forex reserves touched an all-time high of US$704.89 billion on 27 September 2024. ==See also==