Chennai:
The nation''s external debt for 2005-06 now stands
at $125.2 billion, up by $2 billion, according to statistics
put out by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday. As much
as 45.1 per cent of the debt is in US dollars, while another
19.9 per cent is in Indian rupee.
According
to the statistics, as of March 2006, the ratio of external
debt to GDP has dropped to 15.8 per cent as compared to
17.3 per cent a year ago, and 30.8 per cent as of March
1995.
Though
the debt service ratio has risen to 10.2 per cent, as
compared to 6.1 per cent in 2004-05, but that increase
has largely been due to repayment of the India Millennium
Bonds. RBI has also pointed out that the debt service
ratio was at a high of 17.1 per cent in the period1999-2000.
The
ratio of short-term debt to total debt has risen to 7
per cent, as
compared to 6.1 per cent at the end of 2004-05. Similarly,
the ratio of short-term debt to reserves have also risen
to 5.8 per cent from 5.3 per cent.
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