India’s external debt increased by $15.4 billion to $778.2 billion at the end of the June 2026 quarter, while the external debt-to-GDP ratio declined marginally to 20.8%, according to RBI data.
Mumbai, Sep 30 — India’s external debt rose to $778.2 billion at the end of June 2026, marking an increase of $15.4 billion from the March quarter, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India.
Despite the rise in absolute debt, the external debt-to-GDP ratio moderated slightly to 20.8% at the end of June from 20.9% as of March 31, 2026.
The RBI said valuation gains arising from the appreciation of the US dollar against major currencies such as the yen and euro amounted to $0.9 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, India’s external debt would have increased by $16.4 billion during the quarter.
Long-term external debt, with an original maturity of more than one year, stood at $624.7 billion at the end of June, up $11.2 billion from March 2026.
The share of short-term debt with an original maturity of up to one year increased marginally to 19.7% of total external debt from 19.6% in the previous quarter.
The ratio of short-term debt to foreign exchange reserves also increased to 23% at the end of June, compared with 21.6% at the end of March.
US dollar-denominated debt continued to account for the largest share of India’s external debt at 54.8%. This was followed by Indian rupee-denominated debt at 29.8%, yen at 6.9%, Special Drawing Rights at 4.1% and euro-denominated debt at 3.5%.
The RBI said outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors increased during the June quarter.
Loans remained the largest component of external debt with a share of 34.3%, followed by currency and deposits at 22.2%, trade credit and advances at 19.1%, and debt securities at 16.5%.
Debt service, including principal repayments and interest payments, stood at 5.6% of current receipts at the end of June, unchanged from March 2026.
