ECBs, NRI deposits push external debt to USD 462 bn

India's total external debt rose by USD 15.5 billion, or 3.5 per cent, to USD 461.9 billion during the six-month period ending December, mainly due to increase in external commercial borrowings and NRI deposits.
However, as percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the country's external debt works out to be 23.2 per cent at the end of December 2014, down from 23.7 per cent as on March 2014.
"The rise during the period was due to an increase in long-term debt such as commercial borrowings and NRI deposits. Short-term external debt, however, witnessed a decline during the period," said a release by the Ministry of Finance.

The long-term debt at the end of December was USD 376.4 billion, reflecting an increase of 6.1 per cent over the March-end level.
Long-term debt accounted for 81.5 per cent of the total external debt in December compared with 79.5 per cent at March 2014, it added.
The short-term external debt was USD 85.6 billion in December, showing a decline of 6.7 per cent over the March-end level.

Short-term debt, the release said, accounted for 18.5 per cent of the total external debt at December-end as against 20.5 per cent at March 2014.
The shares of Government (sovereign) and non-Government debt in the total external debt were 19.5 per cent and 80.5 per cent, respectively, at the end of December.

According to the release, the share of US Dollar denominated debt was the highest in the external debt stock at 58.7 per cent at the end of December 2014, followed by debt denominated in Indian rupee (26.4 per cent), SDR (6.3 per cent), Japanese yen (4.1 per cent) and Euro (2.9 per cent).