India’s Forex reserves cross record $600 billion-mark, soon to become 4th largest forex reserves holder globally

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India’s foreign exchange reserves crossed the $600 billion mark for the first time after rising by $6.842 billion in the week ended on June 4, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. According to weekly data from the RBI, forex reserves rose to a record $605.008 billion in the reporting week, helped by a rise in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.

India’s forex reserves cover Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), Gold Reserves and the country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The growth in foreign exchange reserves was largely due to an increase in foreign currency assets (FCA). According to RBI’s weekly data, FCAs rose by $7.362 billion to $560.890 billion.

Expressed in dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units such as the euro, pound and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves declined by $502 million to $37.604 billion. The Special Drawing Rights (SDR) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined by $1 million to $1.513 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF also declined by $16 million to $5 billion during the reporting week, the data showed.

What is Foreign Exchange Reserve?

Foreign exchange reserves are important assets held by the central bank in foreign currencies as reserves. They are commonly used to support the exchange rate and set monetary policy. In India’s case, foreign reserves include Gold, Dollars, and the IMF’s quota for Special Drawing Rights. Most of the reserves are usually held in US dollars given the currency’s importance in the international financial and trading system. Some central banks keep reserves in Euros, British pounds, Japanese yen or Chinese yuan in addition to their US dollar reserves.

Why are these reserves so important?

All international transactions are settled in US dollars and, therefore, required to support India’s imports. More importantly, they need to maintain support and confidence for central bank action, whether monetary policy action or any exchange rate intervention to support the domestic currency. It also helps to limit any vulnerability due to sudden disturbances in foreign capital flows, which may arise during a crisis. Holding liquid foreign currency provides a cushion against such effects and provides confidence that there will still be enough foreign exchange to help the country with crucial imports in case of external shocks.

Countries with the highest foreign reserves

Currently, China has the largest reserves followed by Japan, Switzerland, Russia and India on the International Monetary Fund table. India is very close to overtaking Russia to become the fourth largest country with foreign exchange reserves.

1. China – $3,330 Billion
2. Japan – $1,378 Billion
3. Switzerland – $1,070 Billion
4. Rusia – $605.200 Billion
5. India – $605.008 Billion

Initiatives taken by the government to increase forex

In order to increase the foreign exchange reserves, the Government of India has taken many initiatives like AatmaNirbhar Bharat, in which India has to be made a self-reliant nation so that India does not have to import things that India can produce. Other than AatmaNirbhar Bharat, the government has started schemes like Duty Exemption Scheme, Remission of Duty or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme etc. Apart from these schemes, India is one of the top countries that attracted the highest amount of Foreign Direct Investment, thereby improving India’s foreign exchange reserves.