India’s external debt rose to $335 billion at end-December 2011
08 May 2012
India's total external debt stock at end-December 2011 stood at $334.9 billion, up $11 billion (3.4 per cent) from the end-September 2011 level of $323.9 billion. The rise in debt stock was mainly due to higher external commercial borrowings and short-term debt, minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena informed the Rajya Sabha today.
He said the country's current account deficit has steadily been growing over the last five financial years, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP).
India's current account deficit (CAD) rose from 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2007-08 to 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2008-09 and further to 2.8 per cent of GDP in 2009-10.
The CAD slightly dipped to 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 before shooting up to around 4 per cent of GDP during the first nine months of the last financial year (2011-12), he informed.
The CAD, he said, is financed by capital account surplus and drawdown of foreign exchange reserves in case CAD exceeds capital account balance.
Capital flows include both equity and debt.
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