India's external debt at $624.7 billion at end-March 2023

At end-March 2023, as per the data, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at $496.3 billion, recording a decline of $1.1 billion over its level at end-March 2022.

India's external debt rose marginally to $624.7 billion annually at end-March 2023, although the debt-GDP ratio declined, as per a Reserve Bank data released on Friday. The external debt rose by $5.6 billion from $619.1 billion at end-March 2022.

"The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.9 percent at end-March 2023 from 20 percent at end-March 2022," said the Reserve Bank's data on India's External Debt as at end-March 2023. Valuation gains due to the appreciation of the US dollar compared to the Indian rupee and major currencies such as yen, SDR, and euro were placed at $20.6 billion.

"Excluding the valuation effect, external debt would have increased by $26.2 billion instead of $5.6 billion at end-March 2023 over end-March 2022," the central bank added. At end-March 2023, as per the data, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at $496.3 billion, recording a decline of $1.1 billion over its level at end-March 2022.

The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 20.6 percent at end-March 2023 from 19.7 percent at end-March 2022. Similarly, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 22.2 percent at end-March 2023 (20 percent at end-March 2022).

RBI also said US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India's external debt, with a share of 54.6 percent at end-March 2023, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (29.8 percent), SDR (6.1 percent), yen (5.7 percent), and the euro (3.2 percent). Loans remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 32.5 percent, followed by currency and deposits (22.6 percent), trade credit and advances (19.9 percent) and debt securities.

As per the central bank, debt service (principal repayments and interest payments) increased marginally to 5.3 percent of current receipts at end-March 2023 as compared with 5.2 percent at end-March 2022, reflecting higher debt service.