India’s external debt surges 10.7% to USD 717.9 billion: What’s driving the increase? – The Tribune-OxBig News Network

India’s external debt increased by 10.7 per cent to USD 717.9 billion at the end of December 2024 from USD 648.7 billion in December 2023, as per the data released by the Ministry of Finance.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, there is a 0.7 per cent increase in external debt from the level of USD 712.7 billion at the end of September 2024, according to India’s Quarterly External Debt Report.

The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 19.1 per cent at the end of December 2024, against 19 per cent in September 2024, it said.

The valuation effect is due to the appreciation of the US dollar vis-a-vis the rupee and other major currencies, such as the yen, the euro and Special Drawing Rights (SDR), amounting to USD 12.7 billion during the quarter ended December 2024, the report said.

Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been USD 17.9 billion quarter-on-quarter against USD 5.2 billion at the end of December 2024 over September 2024, it added.

“US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 54.8 per cent in end-December 2024, followed by Indian Rupee (30.6 per cent), Japanese Yen (6.1 per cent), SDR (4.7 per cent) and Euro (3 per cent),” it said.

The outstanding external debt of the central government declined while that of the non-government sector increased at December-end 2024 over its level at September-end 2024, it noted.

The share of outstanding debt of non-financial corporations in the total external debt was 36.5 per cent, followed by deposit-taking corporations (except the central bank) (27.8 per cent), central government (22.1 per cent) and other financial corporations (8.7 per cent), according to the report.

Loans were the largest component of external debt, with a share of 33.6 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (23.1 per cent), trade credit and advances (18.8 per cent) and debt securities (16.8 per cent), it added.

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