The RBI has released some figures. This shows that gold reserves in the country have increased to 60 percent of the total as of September 30, while at the end of March they were 50 percent. The RBI’s “Semi-annual Report on Foreign Exchange Reserve Management” said gold held nationally increased by over 100 tonnes between April and September and stood at 510.46 metric tonnes, up from 408 metric tonnes at the end of March. As of September 30, the RBI held 854.73 tonnes of gold, compared to 822.10 tonnes at the end of the last financial year. Of this, 324.01 tonnes were held in the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and 20.26 tonnes of gold were held as deposits. The RBI’s gold reserves have increased from 618 tonnes to 854 tonnes in the last five years. The report said the proportion of gold in foreign exchange reserves in value terms rose from 8.15 percent in March this year to around 9.32 percent in September.
India’s reserves increased by $59 billion in the first 6 months of this financial year. Foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $704.9 billion on September 27, 2024, which decreased slightly to $690.4 billion on October 11. a net increase of 68 billion dollars in the year, consolidating itself as the second largest accumulator of domestic and foreign reserves, only behind China among the main reserve-holding countries. These reserves are enough to cover 11.8 months of imports and more than 101 percent of the country’s external debt by the end of June 2024.
