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Date : Jun 30, 2022
India’s External Debt as at the end of March 2022

The stock of external debt at end-March 2022 as well as revised data for earlier quarters are set out in Statements I (IMF format1) and II (old format). The major developments relating to India’s external debt as at end-March 2022 are presented below.

Highlights

  • At end-March 2022, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 620.7 billion, recording an increase of US$ 47.1 billion over its level at end-March 2021 (Table 1).

  • The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 19.9 per cent at end-March 2022 from 21.2 per cent at end-March 2021.

  • Valuation gains due to the appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis Indian rupee and major currencies such as yen, SDR2, and euro were placed at US$ 11.7 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, external debt would have increased by US$ 58.8 billion instead of US$ 47.1 billion at end-March 2022 over end-March 2021.

  • At end-March 2022, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 499.1 billion, recording an increase of US$ 26.5 billion over its level at end-March 2021.

  • The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 19.6 per cent at end-March 2022 from 17.6 per cent at end-March 2021. Similarly, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 20.0 per cent at end-March 2022 (17.5 per cent at end-March 2021).

  • Short-term debt on residual maturity basis (i.e., debt obligations that include long-term debt by original maturity falling due over the next twelve months and short-term debt by original maturity) constituted 43.1 per cent of total external debt at end-March 2022 (44.1 per cent at end-March 2021) and stood at 44.1 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (43.8 per cent at end-March 2021) (Table 2).

  • US dollar denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.2 per cent at end-March 2022, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (31.2 per cent), SDR (6.6 per cent), yen (5.4 per cent), and the euro (2.9 per cent).

  • Outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors increased during 2021-22 (Table 3).

  • The share of outstanding debt of non-financial corporations in total external debt was the highest at 40.3 per cent, followed by deposit-taking corporations (except the central bank) (25.6 per cent), general government (21.1 per cent) and other financial corporations (8.6 per cent).

  • Loans remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 33.0 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (22.7 per cent), trade credit and advances (19.0 per cent) and debt securities (17.1 per cent) (Table 4).

  • Debt service (i.e., principal repayments and interest payments) declined to 5.2 per cent of current receipts at end-March 2022 as compared with 8.2 per cent at end-March 2021, reflecting lower repayments and higher current receipts (Table 5).

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2022-2023/450

Table 1: External Debt – Outstanding and Variation
(US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise)
Sector Outstanding as at end-March Absolute Variation Percentage Variation
2020 R 2021 PR 2022 P Mar. 2021 over Mar. 2020 Mar. 2022 over Mar. 2021 Mar. 2021 over Mar. 2020 Mar. 2022 over Mar. 2021
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
I. General Government 100.9 111.6 130.8 10.8 19.1 10.7 17.1
II. Central Bank 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -3.1 -56.6
III. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 158.2 160.8 158.7 2.5 -2.0 1.6 -1.3
IV. Other Sectors 276.4 275.9 303.5 -0.5 27.5 -0.2 10.0
       IV.1. Other financial corporations 40.7 55.2 53.2 14.5 -2.0 35.7 -3.6
       IV.2. Non-financial corporations 235.7 220.7 250.2 -15.0 29.5 -6.3 13.4
       IV.3. Households and nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -25.4 -31.6
V. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 22.7 25.2 27.7 2.5 2.5 10.9 10.0
Total Debt (I to V) 558.4 573.7 620.7 15.3 47.1 2.7 8.2
Memo Items:              
A. Long-term Debt (original maturity)@ 451.5 472.6 499.1 21.1 26.5 4.7 5.6
B. Short-term Debt (original maturity)# 106.9 101.1 121.7 -5.8 20.6 -5.4 20.4
R: Revised. PR: Partially Revised. P: Provisional.
@: Debt with original maturity of above one year.
#: Debt with original maturity of up to one year.

Table 2: Residual Maturity of Outstanding External Debt as at end-March 2022
(US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise)
Sector Short-term up to one year 1 to 2 years 2 to 3 years More than 3 years Total (2 to 5)
1 2 3 4 5 6
I. General Government 7.7 8.9 8.4 105.8 130.8
   I.A. Short-term Debt 0.9       0.9
   I.B. Long-term Debt 6.8 8.9 8.4 105.8 129.9
II. Central Bank 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1
   II.A. Short-term Debt 0.1       0.1
   II.B. Long-term Debt 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
III. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 96.8 18.6 17.5 25.8 158.7
   III.A. Short-term Debt 1.9       1.9
   III.B. Long-term Debt 94.9 18.6 17.5 25.8 156.8
IV. Other Sectors 157.4 28.8 28.7 88.6 303.5
   IV.A. Short-term Debt 118.8       118.8
   IV.B. Long-term Debt 38.6 28.8 28.7 88.6 184.6
       IV.1. Other financial corporations 11.5 11.7 5.7 24.4 53.2
         IV.1.A. Short-term Debt 1.4       1.4
         IV.1.B. Long-term Debt 10.0 11.7 5.7 24.4 51.7
      IV.2. Non-financial corporations 146.0 17.1 23.0 64.2 250.2
         IV.2.A. Short-term Debt 117.4       117.4
         IV.2.B. Long-term Debt 28.6 17.1 23.0 64.2 132.9
       IV.3. Households and nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
         IV.3.A. Short-term Debt 0.0       0.0
         IV.3.B. Long-term Debt 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
V. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 5.7 3.3 3.9 14.8 27.7
A. Total Short-term Debt 121.7       121.7
B. Total Long-term Debt 146.0 59.5 58.5 235.0 499.1
C. Total Debt (A+B) 267.7 59.5 58.5 235.0 620.7
Memo Items:          
Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Total External Debt 43.1
Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Foreign Exchange Reserves 44.1

Table 3: Government and Non-government External Debt
(US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise)
Component End-March
2019 2020 R 2021 PR 2022 P
1 2 3 4 5
A. Government Debt (I+II) 103.8 100.9 111.6 130.8
    (As percentage of GDP) (3.8) (3.8) (4.1) (4.2)
    I. External Debt on Government Account under External Assistance 68.8 72.7 84.5 86.7
    II. Other Government External Debt@ 35.0 28.1 27.1 44.1
B. Non-government Debt 439.3 457.5 462.0 490.0
    (As percentage of GDP) (16.1) (17.1) (17.1) (15.7)
    B.1. Central Bank 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
    B.2. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 164.3 158.2 160.8 158.7
    B.3. Other Financial Corporations 31.2 40.7 55.2 53.2
    B.4. Non-financial Corporations 226.4 235.7 220.7 250.2
    B.5. Households and nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
    B.6. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 17.1 22.7 25.2 27.7
C. Total Debt (A+B) 543.1 558.4 573.7 620.7
    (As percentage of GDP) (19.9) (20.9) (21.2) (19.9)
R: Revised. PR: Partially Revised. P: Provisional.
@: Other government external debt includes defence debt, investment in treasury bills/government securities by FPIs, foreign central banks and international institutions, and SDR allocations by the IMF.

Table 4: Outstanding External Debt by Instruments
(US$ billion)
Instrument End-March
2019 2020 R 2021 PR 2022 P
1 2 3 4 5
1. Special Drawing Rights (allocations) 5.5 5.4 5.6 22.9
2. Currency and Deposits 134.4 134.1 143.8 141.0
3. Debt Securities 91.9 97.6 101.2 106.0
4. Loans 189.0 194.2 197.5 205.0
5. Trade Credit and Advances 105.2 104.3 100.3 118.2
6. Other Debt Liabilities 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
7. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 17.1 22.7 25.2 27.7
Total Debt 543.1 558.4 573.7 620.7
R: Revised. PR: Partially Revised. P: Provisional.

Table 5: India’s Key External Debt Indicators
(Per cent, unless indicated otherwise)
End-March External Debt
(US$ billion)		 Ratio of External Debt to GDP Debt Service Ratio Ratio of Foreign Exchange Reserves to Total Debt Ratio of Concessional Debt to Total Debt Ratio of Short-term Debt (original maturity) to Foreign Exchange Reserves Ratio of Short-term Debt (original maturity) to Total Debt
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1991 83.8 28.3 35.3 7.0 45.9 146.5 10.2
1996 93.7 26.6 26.2 23.1 44.7 23.2 5.4
2001 101.3 22.1 16.6 41.7 35.4 8.6 3.6
2006 139.1 17.1 10.1# 109.0 28.4 12.9 14.0
2007 172.4 17.7 4.7 115.6 23.0 14.1 16.3
2008 224.4 18.3 4.8 138.0 19.7 14.8 20.4
2009 224.5 20.7 4.4 112.2 18.7 17.2 19.3
2010 260.9 18.5 5.8 106.9 16.8 18.8 20.1
2011 317.9 18.6 4.4 95.9 14.9 21.3 20.4
2012 360.8 21.1 6.0 81.6 13.3 26.6 21.7
2013 409.4 22.4 5.9 71.3 11.1 33.1 23.6
2014 446.2 23.9 5.9 68.2 10.4 30.1 20.5
2015 474.7 23.8 7.6 72.0 8.8 25.0 18.0
2016 484.8 23.4 8.8 74.3 9.0 23.2 17.2
2017 471.0 19.8 8.3 78.5 9.4 23.8 18.7
2018 529.3 20.1 7.5 80.2 9.1 24.1 19.3
2019 543.1 19.9 6.4 76.0 8.7 26.3 20.0
2020 R 558.4 20.9 6.5 85.6 8.8 22.4 19.1
2021 PR 573.7 21.2 8.2 100.6 9.0 17.5 17.6
2022 P 620.7 19.9 5.2 97.8 8.3 20.0 19.6
R: Revised. PR: Partially Revised. P: Provisional.
# works out to 6.3 per cent with the exclusion of India Millennium Deposits (IMDs) repayments of US$ 7.1 billion and pre-payment of external debt of US$ 23.5 million.

1 The concepts set out in the IMF’s 2013 External Debt Statistics (EDS) Guide are harmonized with those of the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008 and the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) published in 2009.

2 SDR: Special Drawing Rights.

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