India’s external debt rises to USD 711.8 billion at September-end         

India’s external debt rose to USD 711.8 billion as of September this year, up 4.3 per cent over June 2024, as per the data released by the Finance Ministry.

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At the end of September 2023, the external debt stood at USD 637.1 billion.

In September 2024, India’s external debt was placed at USD 711.8 billion, recording an increase of USD 29.6 billion over its level at June-end 2024, India’s Quarterly External Debt Report said.

The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 19.4 per cent in September 2024 against 18.8 per cent as of June 2024, it added.

“The US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt with a share of 53.4 per cent at end-September 2024, followed by Indian Rupee (31.2 per cent), Japanese Yen (6.6 per cent), SDR (5.0 per cent) and Euro (3.0 per cent),” it said.

The outstanding external debt of the general government as well as the non-government sector increased at September-end 2024 over the June 2024 level, it noted.

Loans were the largest component of external debt, with a share of 33.7 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (23.1 per cent), trade credit and advances (18.3 per cent) and debt securities (17.2 per cent), according to the report.

Debt service (principal repayments plus interest payments) stood at 6.7 per cent of current receipts at September-end 2024 compared to 6.6 per cent in June 2024, it added.