India's foreign exchange reserves reached a new high of $740.80 billion in the week to Aug 28, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The increase marks the ninth straight week of growth, adding roughly $75 billion since the end of July.
The previous week’s total stood at $729.33 billion, indicating a weekly rise of about $11.5 billion. The RBI attributes the surge to inflows from recent hedging initiatives launched in June, which offered discounted facilities for overseas borrowing by state‑run firms and banks, as well as a cost‑free facility for banks to raise foreign‑exchange deposits.
Between June 5 and Aug 31, the RBI received more than $136 billion under these programs, with approximately $127 billion sourced from non‑resident Indian (NRI) deposits. The rupee appreciated 0.3% against the U.S. dollar during the same period, closing at 95.3775 per dollar.
The data underscores the effectiveness of RBI’s policy measures in attracting foreign capital and bolstering the country's reserve buffer.
