Gold reserves held domestically have increased to 60 per cent of the total holding as of September 30 as against 50 per cent at the end of March, the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows.

       The RBI’s “Half Yearly Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves” says gold held domestically rose more than 100 tonnes between April and September to 510.46 metric tonnes against 408 metric tonnes at the end of March.

       As of September 30, the RBI held 854.73 tonnes of gold against 822.10 tonnes at the end of the previous financial year.

       Of this, 324.01 tonnes was kept in custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and 20.26 tonnes was held as gold deposits.

       In the last five years, RBI gold reserves increased from 618 tonnes to 854 tonnes.

       In value terms, the proportion of gold in foreign-exchange reserves rose from 8.15 per cent in March this year to approximately 9.32 per cent in September, the report said.

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       In the first half this financial year, India’s reserves expanded by $59 billion.

       Foreign-exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $704.9 billion on September 27, 2024, before slightly declining to $690.4 billion as of October 11.

       This calendar year (up to October 11), India’s reserves saw a net increase of $68 billion, positioning the country as the second-largest accumulator of foreign reserves, behind only China, among major reserve-holding nations.

       These reserves are sufficient to cover 11.8 months of import and exceed 101 per cent of the country’s external debt as of end-June 2024.

       Import cover is a crucial trade indicator, reflecting reserves adequacy, which strengthened alongside the increase in foreign-exchange reserves.

       Net forward assets (payable) of the RBI stood at $14.58 billion as at the end of September 2024.

       The report also said as of the end of the second quarter, foreign currency assets (FCA) stood at $617.07 billion. Of this, $515.30 billion was invested in securities, $60.11 billion was deposited with other central banks and the BIS, and the remaining $41.66 billion was held in deposits with overseas commercial banks.

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