End-March external debt at $440.6 bln, up $31.2 bln on year - RBI

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's total external debt stood at $440.6 billion at the end of March, up $31.2 billion or 7.6 percent from the end of March 2013, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement on Monday.

The rise in external debt during the period was due to an increase in deposits mobilised from non-resident Indians, the RBI said.

The share of India's short-term debt in the total external debt was at $89.2 billion or 20.3 percent as at end-March compared with 23.6 percent a year ago, the RBI added.

(Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Sunil Nair)