India’s Forex Reserves Rise $15.26 Billion to $653.96 Billion
Why in the news
The RBI’s weekly data, released on 14 March 2025, showed India’s foreign exchange reserves rising sharply by $15.26 billion to $653.96 billion in the week ended 7 March. Swap operations by the central bank in the previous month supported the increase.
Key facts
- Total forex reserves: $653.96 billion, up $15.26 billion.
- Foreign currency assets (FCA) were the main driver, up $13.93 billion.
- Gold reserves gained $1 billion.
- Data comes from the RBI’s Weekly Statistical Supplement.
| Component | Level (week ended 7 March 2025) |
|---|---|
| Foreign currency assets | $557.28 billion |
| Gold | $74.32 billion |
| Special Drawing Rights | $18.21 billion |
| Reserve position with IMF | $4.14 billion |
About forex reserves
Foreign exchange reserves are external assets held by the central bank, made up of foreign currency assets, gold, SDRs and the reserve position with the IMF. They are reported weekly by the RBI. One report gave the total as $653.97 billion, a rounding difference.
Exam angle
- FCA is the largest component of reserves.
- Know the four components of reserves.
- The reserves crossed the $650 billion mark in this week’s data.