The stock of external debt at end-March 2021 as well as revised data for earlier quarters are set out in Statements I (old format) and II (IMF format)1. The major developments relating to India’s external debt as at end-March 2021 are presented below. Highlights - At end-March 2021, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 570.0 billion, recording an increase of US$ 11.5 billion over its level at end-March 2020 (Table 1).
- The external debt to GDP ratio increased to 21.1 per cent at end-March 2021 from 20.6 per cent at end-March 2020.
- Valuation loss due to the depreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis Indian rupee and major currencies such as euro, SDR2 and pound sterling was placed at US$ 6.8 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been US$ 4.7 billion instead of US$ 11.5 billion at end-March 2021 over end-March 2020.
- Commercial borrowings remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 37.4 per cent, followed by non-resident deposits (24.9 per cent) and short-term trade credit (17.1 per cent).
- At end-March 2021, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 468.9 billion, recording an increase of US$ 17.3 billion over its level at end-March 2020.
- The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt declined to 17.7 per cent at end-March 2021 from 19.1 per cent at end-March 2020; the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves declined to 17.5 per cent at end-March 2021 (22.4 per cent at end-March 2020).
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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 44.6 per cent of total external debt at end-March 2021 (42.4 per cent at end-March 2020) and stood at 44.1 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (49.6 per cent at end-March 2020) (Table 2). -
US dollar denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 52.1 per cent at end-March 2021, followed by the Indian rupee (33.3 per cent), yen (5.8 per cent), SDR (4.4 per cent) and the euro (3.5 per cent). - The borrower-wise classification shows that the outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors increased at end-March 2021 (Table 3).
- The share of outstanding debt of non-financial corporations in total external debt was the highest at 40.4 per cent, followed by deposit-taking corporations (except the central bank) (28.2 per cent), general government (18.8 per cent) and other financial corporations (8.1 per cent).
- The instrument-wise classification shows that the loans were the largest component of external debt, with a share of 34.8 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (25.2 per cent), trade credit and advances (17.6 per cent) and debt securities (17.0 per cent) (Table 4).
- Debt service (principal repayments plus interest payments) increased to 8.2 per cent of current receipts at end-March 2021 as compared with 6.5 per cent at end-March 2020, reflecting higher repayments and lower current receipts (Table 5).
(Yogesh Dayal) Chief General Manager Press Release: 2021-2022/455 Table 1: External Debt - Outstanding and Variation | (US$ billion) | Component | Outstanding as at end-March | Absolute variation | Percentage variation | 2019 R | 2020 PR | 2021 P | Mar-20 over Mar-19 | Mar-21 over Mar-20 | Mar-20 over Mar-19 | Mar-21 over Mar-20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1. Multilateral | 57.4 | 59.9 | 69.7 | 2.5 | 9.7 | 4.4 | 16.3 | 2. Bilateral | 26.6 | 28.1 | 31.0 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 5.4 | 10.4 | 3. IMF | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -1.7 | 3.8 | 4. Trade Credit | 7.7 | 7.0 | 6.5 | -0.8 | -0.5 | -9.7 | -6.8 | 5. Commercial Borrowings | 205.8 | 219.5 | 213.2 | 13.7 | -6.3 | 6.7 | -2.9 | 6. Non-resident Deposits | 130.4 | 130.6 | 141.9 | 0.2 | 11.3 | 0.1 | 8.7 | 7. Rupee Debt | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -11.7 | -4.6 | 8. Short-term Debt | 108.4 | 106.9 | 101.1 | -1.5 | -5.8 | -1.4 | -5.4 | Of which: | | | | | | | | Short-term Trade Credit | 102.4 | 101.4 | 97.3 | -1.0 | -4.1 | -1.0 | -4.1 | Total Debt | 543.1 | 558.4 | 570.0 | 15.3 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 2.1 | Memo Items: | | | | | | | | A. Long-term Debt (original maturity)@ | 434.7 | 451.6 | 468.9 | 16.8 | 17.3 | 3.9 | 3.8 | B. Short-term Debt (original maturity)# | 108.4 | 106.9 | 101.1 | -1.5 | -5.8 | -1.4 | -5.4 | 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 2021 | (US$ billion) | 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 | 6.3 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 84.9 | 107.2 | I.A. Short-term Debt | 0.3 | | | | 0.3 | I.B. Long-term Debt | 6.0 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 84.9 | 107.0 | II. Central Bank | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | II.A. Short-term Debt | 0.2 | | | | 0.2 | II.B. Long-term Debt | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | III. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank | 108.2 | 19.9 | 9.8 | 22.9 | 160.7 | III.A. Short-term Debt | 1.7 | | | | 1.7 | III.B. Long-term Debt | 106.5 | 19.9 | 9.8 | 22.9 | 159.1 | IV. Other Sectors | 134.0 | 27.1 | 30.9 | 84.6 | 276.6 | IV.A. Short-term Debt | 99.0 | | | | 99.0 | IV.B. Long-term Debt | 35.0 | 27.1 | 30.9 | 84.6 | 177.6 | IV.1. Other financial corporations | 6.0 | 9.4 | 10.8 | 20.2 | 46.4 | IV.1.A. Short-term Debt | 1.7 | | | | 1.7 | IV.1.B. Long-term Debt | 4.3 | 9.4 | 10.8 | 20.2 | 44.7 | IV.2. Non-financial corporations | 127.9 | 17.6 | 20.1 | 64.4 | 230.1 | IV.2.A. Short-term Debt | 97.3 | | | | 97.3 | IV.2.B. Long-term Debt | 30.7 | 17.6 | 20.1 | 64.4 | 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 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 13.5 | 25.3 | A. Total Short-term Debt | 101.1 | | | | 101.1 | B. Total Long-term Debt | 153.2 | 57.6 | 52.2 | 205.9 | 468.9 | C. Total Debt (A+B) | 254.3 | 57.6 | 52.2 | 205.9 | 570.0 | Memo Items: | | | | | | Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Total External Debt | | | | | 44.6 | Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Foreign Exchange Reserves | | | | | 44.1 | Table 3: Government and Non-government External Debt | (US$ billion) | Component | End-March | 2018 | 2019 R | 2020 PR | 2021 P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | A. Government Debt (I+II) | 111.9 | 103.8 | 100.9 | 107.2 | (As percentage of GDP) | (4.3) | (3.8) | (3.7) | (4.0) | I. External Debt on Government Account under External Assistance | 68.6 | 68.8 | 72.7 | 84.5 | II. Other Government External Debt @ | 43.4 | 35.0 | 28.1 | 22.7 | B. Non-government Debt | 417.3 | 439.3 | 457.6 | 462.8 | (As percentage of GDP) | (15.9) | (16.1) | (16.9) | (17.1) | B.1. Central Bank | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | B.2. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank | 154.6 | 164.3 | 158.2 | 160.7 | B.3. Other Financial Corporations | 26.4 | 31.2 | 40.9 | 46.4 | B.4. Non-financial Corporations | 220.4 | 226.4 | 235.4 | 230.1 | B.5. Households and nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | B.6. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending | 15.7 | 17.1 | 22.8 | 25.3 | C. Total Debt (A+B) | 529.3 | 543.1 | 558.4 | 570.0 | (As percentage of GDP) | (20.1) | (19.9) | (20.6) | (21.1) | 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 IMF. | Table 4: Outstanding External Debt by Instruments | (US$ billion) | Instrument | End-March | 2018 | 2019 R | 2020 PR | 2021 P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1. Special Drawing Rights (allocations) | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 2. Currency and Deposits | 127.6 | 134.4 | 134.1 | 143.8 | 3. Debt Securities | 98.3 | 91.9 | 97.5 | 96.7 | 4. Loans | 178.7 | 189.0 | 194.3 | 198.3 | 5. Trade Credit and Advances | 103.2 | 105.2 | 104.3 | 100.3 | 6. Other Debt Liabilities | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending | 15.7 | 17.1 | 22.8 | 25.3 | Total Debt | 529.3 | 543.1 | 558.4 | 570.0 | 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 R | 543.1 | 19.9 | 6.4 | 76.0 | 8.7 | 26.3 | 20.0 | 2020 PR | 558.4 | 20.6 | 6.5 | 85.6 | 8.8 | 22.4 | 19.1 | 2021 P | 570.0 | 21.1 | 8.2 | 101.2 | 9.1 | 17.5 | 17.7 | 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. | | |