The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released data relating to India’s International Investment Position for end-December 2024. It noted that net claims of non-residents on India increased by US$ 11 billion during Q3:2024-25 and stood at US$ 364.5 billion in December 2024. Foreign assets of Indian residents declined by US$ 40.1 billion and the claims of non-residents’ in India also declined by US$ 29.1 billion, resulting in increase in the India net foreign liabilities.
The decline in Indian residents’ foreign assets during October-December 2024 was mainly on account of the decrease of US$ 70.1 billion in reserve assets. Reserve assets, however, recorded an increase of US$ 13.2 billion over December 2023. The fall in India’s foreign liabilities was due to the decline in inward direct and portfolio investments during the quarter, though trade credit, loans and currency & deposits recorded an increase.
Reserve assets accounted for 59.0 per cent of India’s total international financial assets in December 2024. Variation in the exchange rate of rupee vis-a-vis other currencies impacted the change in liabilities, when valued in the US dollar terms. The ratio of India’s international assets to international liabilities improved to 74.7 per cent in December 2024 from 73.1 per cent a year ago. The share of debt liabilities in total external liabilities increased to 53.6 per cent in December 2024 from 52.9 per cent a quarter ago and 51.2 per cent a year ago.