India Adds 42.3 Tonnes of Gold To Its Reserves; Forex Reserves Surge

India's gold reserves increased by 42.3 tonnes in the year ended March 31, 2021, compared to 40.45 tonnes the previous year.

The share of gold in total foreign exchange reserves decreased from about 6.69 percent at the end of September 2020 to about 5.87 percent at the end of March 2021, according to the report.

According to the survey, gold reserves were USD 33.88 billion at the end of March 2021, down from USD 36.429 billion in September 2020.

The central bank said in its half-yearly report on foreign exchange management that India's import cover increased to 18.6 months at the end of December 2020, up from 17.1 months at the end of September 2020.

Although 403.01 tonnes of gold (360.71 tonnes as of March-end 2020) was kept overseas in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the RBI said 292.30 tonnes of gold was held domestically (unchanged from March-end 2020).

India's foreign exchange reserves rose from $544.69 billion at the end of September 2020 to $576.98 billion at the end of March 2021 during the half-year period under study.

Foreign exchange reserves rose by $83.9 billion in April-December 2020, excluding valuation shifts, compared to $40.7 billion in April-December 2019.

The reserves of the RBI are held in a variety of major currencies, including the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, and Japanese yen, but are denominated and expressed in dollars.