India’s External Debt as at the end of March 2020
According to RBI data, India’s external debt stood at USD 558.5 billion in March, an increase of USD 15.4 billion compared to the year-ago period. The Commercial borrowings remained the largest component of the external debt, with a share of 39.4 per cent, followed by non-resident deposits at 23.4 per cent and short-term trade credit at 18.2 per cent.
Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020
Key-Points
At end-March 2020, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 558.5 billion, recording an increase of US$ 15.4 billion over its level at end-March 2019.
Commercial borrowings remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 39.4 %, followed by non-resident deposits (23.4 %) and short-term trade credit (18.2 %).
At end-March 2020, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 451.7 billion, recording an increase of US$ 17.0 billion over its level at end-March 2019.
The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt declined to 19.1 % at end-March 2020 from 20.0 % at end-March 2019.
US dollar denominated debt continued to be the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.7 % at end-March 2020, followed by the Indian rupee (31.9 %), yen (5.6 %), SDR (4.5 %) and the euro (3.5 %).
The borrower-wise classification shows that the outstanding debt of general government decreased, while that of non-government sector increased at end-March 2020.
The share of outstanding debt of nonfinancial corporations in total external debt was the highest at 42.0 %, followed by deposit-taking corporations (except the central bank) (28.3 %), general government (18.1 %) and other financial corporations (7.5 %).
The instrument-wise classification shows that the loans were the largest component of external debt, with a share of 34.8 %, followed by currency and deposits (24.0 %), trade credit and advances (18.7 %) and debt securities (17.4 %).
Debt service (principal repayments plus interest payments) increased marginally to 6.5 % of current receipts at end-March 2020 as compared with 6.4 % at end-March 2019, reflecting higher interest payments on commercial borrowings and lower current receipts.