India’s foreign debt at December-end rose to $461.9 bn

India’s external debt at the end of December 2014 stood at $461.9 billion — a 3.5 percent or $15.5 billion rise from what it was in end of March 2014, government data showed on Tuesday.

The country’s external debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 23.2 percent as of December-end, compared with 23.7 percent as of March 2014-end.

The rise in external debt during the period was owing to an increase in long-term debts like commercial borrowings and NRI deposits.

Short-term external debt, however, saw a decline during the period. It fell 6.7 percent at end of March 2014 to $85.6 billion as of end of December, while long-term debt rose 6.1 percent to $376.4 billion, the finance ministry said in a statement here.

Long-term debt at the end of December 2014 was $376.4 billion, reflecting an increase of 6.1 percent over the level at end of March 2014. It accounted for 81.5 percent of total external debt at end-December 2014 as against 79.5 percent at end-March 2014.

The share of US dollar denominated debt was the highest in the external debt stock and stood at 58.7 percent at end of December 2014, followed by debt denominated in Indian rupee (26.4 percent), SDRs (6.3 percent), Japanese yen (4.1 percent) and euro (2.9 percent).