India’s foreign exchange reserves recorded a sharp fall of $9.32 billion, standing at $688.871 billion for the week ending August 1, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Despite the decline, the forex reserves remain close to the all-time high of $704.89 billion, achieved in September 2024.
At the recent monetary policy meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra assured that the country’s forex stockpile was strong enough to cover 11 months of imports.
Breaking down the reserves, foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component, stood at $581.607 billion, while gold reserves dipped by $1.706 billion, settling at $83.998 billion.
Globally, central banks have been ramping up gold purchases as a safe-haven asset, with the RBI’s gold share in reserves nearly doubling since 2021.
- In 2022, India saw a cumulative decline of $71 billion in forex reserves.
- In 2023, reserves rebounded by $58 billion.
- In 2024, reserves grew by over $20 billion.
- So far in 2025, India has already added about $49 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves are assets held by the central bank in major global currencies like the US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling. The RBI often intervenes in the forex market to stabilize the Rupee—buying dollars when the currency is strong and selling them during weakness.
