External Sector

  • Among the major economies with current account deficit, India is the second largest foreign exchange reserve holder after Brazil. India’s foreign exchange reserves at US$ 328.7 billion at end-January mainly comprised foreign currency assets amounting to US$ 303.3 billion, accounting for 92.3% of the total.
  • However, the rupee has appreciated by 7.3%, 16.1%, and 13.6% against the pound sterling, euro, and Japanese yen respectively between March 2014 and January 2015.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES OF SOME MAJOR COUNTRIES

SL. No. Country Foreign exchange reserves at end-Dec. 2014( US$ billion)
1 China 3840.0
2 Japan 1312.1
3 Switzerland 526.6
4 Russian Federation 388.5
5 Brazil 363.6
6 Korea, Republic of 363.2
7 China, P.R. Hong Kong 344.6
8 India 320.6
9 Germany 192.7
10 Thailand 163.7
11 France 161.6
12 Italy 143.3

 

    • The real effective exchange rate (REER) indices are used as indicator of external competitiveness of the country over a period of time.
UPSC Prelims 2025 Notes