India’s external debt hits 20 per cent of GDP at $346 billion
10 Sep 2012
The ratio of India's total external debt to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 20 per cent while its debt service ratio stood at 6 per cent of GDP.
India's external debt stock at end-March 2012 stood at $345.8 billion, increasing by $39.9 billion (13 per cent) over the end-March 2011 level of $305.9 billion. The rise could be attributed mainly to increase in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian deposits.
The long-term external debt at $267.6 billion at end-March 2012 reflected an increase of 11.1 per cent, while the short-term debt at $78.2 billion increased by 20.3 per cent over the level of end-March 2011. The long-term debt accounted for 77.4 per cent of total external debt at end-March 2012.
At end-March 2012, the share of commercial borrowings in the country's total external debt stock stood at 30.2 per cent, followed by short-term debt (22.6 per cent), NRI deposits (16.9 per cent) and multilateral debt (14.6 per cent).
''The rising share of commercial borrowing over the years is an indication of a maturing market economy and the increasing role that the corporate sector is playing in sustaining the growth of the economy,'' according to the official 'India's External Debt: A Status Report 2011-12', released today.
Government (sovereign) external debt stood at $81.9 billion at end-March 2012 vis-a-vis $78.1 billion at end-March 2011. The share of government external debt in total external debt was lower at 23.7 per cent at end-March 2012 as compared to 25.5 per cent at end-March 2011.
