Economy
Is India's position with the world sound?
A reserve cushion, but the full picture is dated. India held US$765.9 billion in gross foreign exchange reserves on 18 Sept 2026. These older figures leave today's reserve cushion uncertain.
Written for readers following India's trade and foreign financing. Data checked on 25 Oct 2026.
A reserve cushion, but the full picture is dated
Reserves covered 11.1 months of goods imports on 18 Sept 2026, using the monthly import average over the year to Aug 2026. At the end of Dec 2025, reserves were 4.6 times India's US$150.8 billion of short-term foreign debt. This counts debt by its original repayment term and leaves out longer loans falling due soon.
India's current account ran a US$4.2 billion deficit in April to June 2026, the latest quarter in these RBI figures. It brings together goods, services, income and transfers. Services, income and transfers together brought in a net US$81.8 billion in April to June 2026. These flows, called invisibles, covered 95% of the US$86.1 billion goods deficit.
India ran a US$26.9 billion deficit in goods trade in Aug 2026. The rupee fell 6.9% against a basket of trading partners' currencies over the year to Aug 2026, after adjusting for inflation. This is its real effective exchange rate.
Foreign investors withdrew a net ₹35,861 cr from Indian shares in Sept 2026. NSDL's figures include new share issues as well as purchases and sales of existing shares. Some key figures are old or missing, which limits what we can say about today's financing needs.
usual range: the middle half of all readings latest Each line runs from the lowest reading to the highest. Reserves and debt are amounts held or owed, while trade and investment flows cover a period. Each row has its own dates and scale; the historical ranges give context without marking safe or unsafe levels.
The latest figures
India ran a US$26.9 billion deficit in goods trade in Aug 2026. Foreign investors withdrew a net ₹35,861 cr from Indian shares in Sept 2026. NSDL's figures include new share issues as well as purchases and sales of existing shares.
This cycle
India's current account ran a US$4.2 billion deficit in April to June 2026, the latest quarter in these RBI figures. It brings together goods, services, income and transfers. Foreign investors withdrew a net ₹2.7 lakh cr from Indian shares over the year to Sept 2026. The total uses complete fortnightly reports for every month.
This decade
Reserves covered a median 11.1 months of goods imports in the available readings from the past decade. This history starts in Jun 2023, so it covers only part of that decade.
What offsets India's goods trade deficit?
Goods trade and the current account
Services, income and transfers together brought in a net US$81.8 billion in April to June 2026. These flows, called invisibles, covered 95% of the US$86.1 billion goods deficit.
Goods, invisibles and the current account
Quarterly, US$ billion. Invisibles include services, income and transfers.
How to read it. Services, income and transfers can offset a goods deficit. The current-account line shows what remains after combining them, and whether India needs financing from abroad.
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How large is the reserve cushion?
Reserve composition and debt cover
Reserves covered 11.1 months of goods imports on 18 Sept 2026, using the monthly import average over the year to Aug 2026.
Months of merchandise imports covered
Weekly reserves divided by a trailing monthly import average.
How to read it. A higher line means reserves could pay for more months of goods imports at their past pace. Services and other foreign payments are left out.
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Is the rupee becoming cheaper in real terms?
The rupee and the RBI's dollar operations
The rupee fell 6.9% against a basket of trading partners' currencies over the year to Aug 2026, after adjusting for inflation. This is its real effective exchange rate.
The rupee against its trading-partner basket
Yearly change, %. RBI's real index adjusts for relative inflation.
How to read it. Below zero, the rupee has weakened against the basket. The difference between the real and nominal lines comes from inflation in India relative to its trading partners.
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Is foreign portfolio money coming in?
Portfolio money, direct investment and dollar credit
Foreign investors withdrew a net ₹2.7 lakh cr from Indian shares over the year to Sept 2026. The total uses complete fortnightly reports for every month.
A year of foreign equity and debt flows
₹ crore. Only windows of complete custodian reports.
How to read it. Above zero, foreign investors put in more money than they withdrew over the preceding year. Their investments in shares and debt can move in different directions.
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What the numbers can't tell you
- The figures arrive at different times
- Quarterly current-account and debt figures can lag the reserve, trade and investor-flow data. Check each date: an older figure tells us less about India's position today.
- Import cover uses past bills
- This calculation asks how long reserves would pay for goods imports at their past pace. It leaves out services, future changes in import prices and other foreign payments; revisions can also change the history.
- More debt may be due soon
- Short-term debt here means borrowing originally due for repayment over a short term. Longer loans now nearing repayment are excluded, so the ratio overstates how well reserves cover all debt coming due.
- Reserves change for several reasons
- Gold prices, exchange rates and income can change reserves without the RBI buying or selling dollars. Monthly spot transactions and outstanding forward commitments measure different things, so neither can simply be subtracted from reserves recorded on another date.
- History cannot tell us the rupee's fair value
- The real rupee index depends on the currencies in the basket and their inflation rates. Its base and past range cannot establish a fair exchange rate or predict where it will go.
- Past figures can be revised
- These charts use the latest available revisions. Import cover allows for a publication delay before using an import figure, but the history cannot recreate the figures readers would have seen at the time.
What changed
Each change compares the latest figure with the previous one available. Check the dates: missing releases can leave a longer gap between them.
| Measure | Each series' previous observation | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserves | 780.8 US$ bn (11 Sept 2026) | 765.9 US$ bn (18 Sept 2026) | down 14.9 US$ bn |
| Goods trade balance | −31.9 US$ bn (Jul 2026) | −26.9 US$ bn (Aug 2026) | up 5.0 US$ bn |
| Real rupee index | 91.8 index points (Jul 2026) | 92.0 index points (Aug 2026) | up 0.2 index points |
| Foreign equity flows | ₹29,631 cr (Aug 2026) | −₹35,861 cr (Sept 2026) | down ₹65,492 cr |
The workings
The question
Data
Tables and downloads accompany calculated measures. RBI level series are shown as charts only. Bundles are listed in data status.