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December
2006
Press Release : India's
External debt for the Quarter ended September 2006
[Hindi]
India
’s
External Debt for the quarter ended September 2006
As
at the end of September 2006, India's external debt stock at
US$136.5 billion showed an increase of US$4.3 billion as compared
to US$132.2 billion at end-June 2006 (Table
1). The rise in external debt outstanding at end-September
2006 was essentially brought about by a rise in external
commercial borrowings, NRI deposits and short term debt.
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Table
1:
India
's External Debt
(US
$ million)
|
|
Item
|
Debt
Outstanding
|
Variation
|
|
Absolute
|
Per
cent
|
|
March
2006 R
|
June
2006 R
|
Sept.
2006 QE
|
Mar.
06 to Sept. 06
(4-2)
|
June
06 to Sept. 06
(4-3)
|
Mar.
06 to Sept. 06
|
June
06 to Sept. 06
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
|
1.
Multilateral
|
32,559
|
33,101
|
33,594
|
1,035
|
493
|
3.2
|
1.5
|
|
2.
Bilateral
|
15,727
|
15,834
|
15,734
|
7
|
-100
|
0.0
|
-0.6
|
|
3.
IMF
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
4.
Export credit
|
5,395
|
5,498
|
5,663
|
268
|
165
|
5.0
|
3.0
|
|
5.
Commercial borrowings
|
26,849
|
31,099
|
32,462
|
5,613
|
1,363
|
20.9
|
4.4
|
|
6.
NRI Deposits (long-term)
|
35,134
|
35,651
|
36,563
|
1,429
|
912
|
4.1
|
2.6
|
|
7.
Rupee debt
|
2,031
|
1,915
|
1,921
|
-110
|
6
|
-5.4
|
0.3
|
|
8.
Long-term debt
(1 to 7)
|
117,695
|
123,098
|
125,937
|
8,242
|
2,839
|
7.0
|
2.3
|
|
9.
Short-term debt
|
8,696
|
9,105
|
10,579
|
1,883
|
1,474
|
21.7
|
16.2
|
|
10.
Total debt (8+9)
|
126,391
|
132,203
|
136,516
|
10,125
|
4,313
|
8.0
|
3.3
|
|
R:
Revised
QE: Quick Estimates
|
In
terms of components, long-term debt outstanding at US$125.9
billion at end-September 2006 showed an increase of US$2.8 billion
over the quarter. Under long-term debt, multilateral debt rose by
US$493 million which was partly offset by a drop in bilateral
credits by US$ 100 million. Export credit outstanding rose by
US$165 million. The stock of commercial borrowings at US$32,462
million was higher by US$1,363 million as compared with those at
the end of the preceding quarter. While Rupee debt remained
broadly at the same level as at the end of previous quarter, NRI
deposits rose by US$912 million to US$36,563 million.
Short-term
debt increased by 16.2 percent over the quarter to US$10,579
million at end-September 2006 on account of a rise in trade
credits. Increase
in trade credits can be attributed to higher import bill during
the current year.
In
terms of their share in total debt stock, Non-Resident deposits
accounted for 26.8 per cent of the total debt at end-September
2006, followed by multilateral debt at 24.6 per cent and
commercial borrowings at 23.8 per cent. The share of bilateral
debt was 11.5 per cent. Export credit and Rupee debt accounted for
4.1 percent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. The share of
short-term debt was 7.8 per cent.
India
’s foreign currency reserves including foreign currency assets
of the RBI, gold, SDRs and Reserve Tranche Position in the
International Monetary Fund stood at US$165.3 billion as at the
end of September 2006. Foreign
currency assets of the RBI were of the order of US$158.3 billion
as on
September 30, 2006
providing a cover of around 116 per cent to total external debt
stock.
US
dollar continued to be the major currency of denomination in
India
’s external debt portfolio. The share of US dollar in the debt
stock of the country increased further from 45.4 per cent at
end-March 2006 to 46.7 per cent at end-September 2006.
Prudent external debt management policies are pursued by
the Government to maintain external debt within manageable limits.
These include emphasis on raising funds on concessional
terms and from less expensive sources with longer maturities,
monitoring of short-term debt, prepaying high cost loans,
rationalizing interest rates on NRI deposits, restricting end-use
of external commercial borrowings, limiting trade credits and
encouraging non-debt creating capital flows.
F.
No. 1(30)/ 2006-EDMU
New Delhi
December 29, 2006
.
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