India Quarterly External Debt Report for Quarter ending December 2025

India’s Quarterly External Debt Report for Quarter Ending December 2025 Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs External Debt Management Unit www.dea.gov.in March 2026India’s External Debt as at end of December 2025 The stock of external debt at end-December 2025 along with the revised data for earlier quarters is set out in Statement I (IMF format1) and Statement II (old format). The major developments relating to India’s external debt as at end-December 2025 are presented below: Highlights 1. At end-December 2025, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 765.5 billion, recording an increase of US$ 18.3 billion over its level at end-September 2025 (Table 1). 2. The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 20.4 per cent as at end-December 2025, as against 20.1 per cent as at end-September 2025 (Table 1). 3. Valuation effect due to the appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the Indian rupee and other major currencies, such as yen amounted to US$ 5.3 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been US$ 23.7 billion instead of US$ 18.3 billion at end-December 2025 over end- September 2025. 4. At end-December 2025, long-term debt (with an original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 614.8 billion, recording an increase of US$ 5.6 billion over its level at end-September 2025 (Table 1). 5. The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 19.7 per cent at end-December 2025 from 18.5 per cent at end- September 2025. Similarly, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 21.9 per cent at end-December 2025 from 19.7 per cent at end-September 2025 (Table 5). 6. Short-term debt on residual maturity basis (i.e., debt obligations that include long- term debt by original maturity falling due over the next twelve months and short-term debt by original maturity) constituted 43.2 per cent of total external debt at end- December 2025 (41.6 per cent at end-September 2025) and stood at 48.1 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (44.4 per cent at end-September 2025) (Table 2). 7. US dollar denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 54.8 per cent at end-December 2025, followed by Indian Rupee (30.1 per cent), Japanese Yen (6.3 per cent), SDR (4.3 per cent) and Euro (3.7 per cent). 8. The outstanding external debt of General Government declined marginally while that of non-Government sector increased by 3.2 per cent at end-December 2025 over its level at end-September 2025 (Table 3). 1 The concepts set out in the IMF’s 2013 External Debt Statistics (EDS) Guide are harmonized with those of the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008 and the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) published in 2009. 2 SDR: Special Drawing Rights.9. The share of outstanding debt of non-financial corporations in total external debt was 36.8 per cent, followed by deposit-taking corporations (except the central bank) (26.5 per cent), general government (22.0 per cent) and other financial corporations (9.9 per cent) (Table 3). 10. Loans were the largest component of external debt, with a share of 34.0 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (22.7 per cent), trade credit and advances (19.1 per cent) and debt securities (16.4 per cent) (Table 4). 11. Debt service (principal repayments plus interest payments) stood at 5.8 per cent of current receipts at end-December 2025 as compared with 6.0 per cent at end-September 2025 (Table 5). ***Table 1: External Debt - Outstanding and Variation (US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise) Absolute Variation Percentage variation Dec 2024 Sep 2025 Dec 2025 Sector/Instrument Dec 2025 over Dec 2025 over Dec 2025 over Dec 2025 over PR PR P Dec 2024 Sep 2025 Dec 2024 Sep 2025 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) I. General Government 158.9 168.8 168.7 9.8 -0.1 6.2 0.0 II. Central Bank 0.3 0.1 0.1 -0.2 0.0 -79.4 -8.9 III. Deposit-Taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 200.0 197.4 202.7 2.6 5.3 1.3 2.7 IV. Other Sectors 325.2 344.6 357.3 32.1 12.7 9.9 3.7 IV.1. Other financial corporations 62.3 72.4 75.7 13.4 3.3 21.5 4.6 IV.2. Non-financial corporations 262.8 272.2 281.6 18.7 9.4 7.1 3.4 IV.3. Households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -10.5 -4.6 V. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 34.2 36.4 36.8 2.6 0.4 7.5 1.2 Gross External Debt (I to V) 718.6 747.2 765.5 46.9 18.3 6.5 2.5 (As a percentage of GDP)* (19.8) (20.1) (20.4) Memo Items: A. Long-term Debt @ 578.6 609.1 614.8 36.2 5.6 6.3 0.9 B. Short-term Debt # 140.0 138.0 150.8 10.7 12.7 7.7 9.2 PR: Partially Revised; P: Provisional. @: Debt with original maturity of above one year. #: Debt with original maturity of up to one year. *: Gross external debt as a percentage of GDP is based on the new GDP series (Base Year: 2022‑23). Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Figures may not add up to total due to rounding off.Table 2: Residual Maturity of Outstanding External Debt as at end-December 2025 (US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise) Short-term up 1 to 2 2 to 3 More than Total Sector to one year years years 3 years (2 to 5) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) I. General Government 11.9 11.3 13.1 132.5 168.7 I.A. Short-term 0.3 - - - 0.3 I.B. Long-term 11.6 11.3 13.1 132.5 168.5 II. Central Bank 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 II.A. Short-term 0.1 - - - 0.1 II.B. Long-term 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 III. Deposit-Taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 130.6 31.1 9.3 31.7 202.7 III.A. Short-term 4.6 - - - 4.6 III.B. Long-term 126.1 31.1 9.3 31.7 198.1 IV. Other Sectors 180.3 38.0 43.3 95.7 357.3 IV.A. Short-term 145.9 - - - 145.9 IV.B. Long-term 34.4 38.0 43.3 95.7 211.4 IV.1. Other financial corporations 9.5 18.3 21.7 26.2 75.7 IV.1.A. Short-term 0.4 - - - 0.4 IV.1.B. Long-term 9.2 18.3 21.7 26.2 75.3 IV.2. Non-financial corporations 170.7 19.8 21.6 69.4 281.6 IV.2.A. Short-term 145.5 - - - 145.5 IV.2.B. Long-term 25.2 19.8 21.6 69.4 136.0 IV.3. Households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 IV.3.A. Short-term 0.0 - - - 0.0 IV.3.B. Long-term 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 V. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 8.0 5.5 5.1 18.2 36.8 A. Total Short-term Debt 150.8 - - - 150.8 B. Total Long-term Debt 180.0 85.9 70.7 278.1 614.8 C. Total External Debt (A+B) 330.8 85.9 70.7 278.1 765.5 Memo Items: Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Total External Debt 43.2 Short-term Debt (residual maturity) as per cent of Foreign Exchange Reserves 48.1 Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Figures may not add up to total due to rounding off.Table 3: Government and Non-Government External Debt (US$ billion, unless indicated otherwise) Sector/Instrument Dec 2024 PR Sep 2025 PR Dec 2025 P (1) (2) (3) (4) A. General Government (I+II) 158.9 168.8 168.7 (as a percentage of GDP) (4.4) (4.5) (4.5) I. External Assistance under Govt. Account 98.3 104.3 104.1 II. Other Govt. External Debt@ 60.6 64.5 64.7 B. Non-Government Debt 559.7 578.4 596.8 (as a percentage of GDP) (15.4) (15.5) (15.9) B.I. Central Bank 0.3 0.1 0.1 B.II. Deposit-taking Corporations, except the Central Bank 200.0 197.4 202.7 B.III. Other financial corporations 62.3 72.4 75.7 B.IV. Non-financial corporations 262.8 272.2 281.6 B.V. Households and non-profit institutions serving households 0.0 0.0 0.0 (NPISHs) B.VI. Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending 34.2 36.4 36.8 Gross External Debt (A+B) 718.6 747.2 765.5 PR: Partially Revised; P: Provisional. @: Other government external debt includes defence debt, investment in Treasury Bills/government securities by foreign portfolio investors, foreign central banks and international institutions, and SDR allocations by the IMF. Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Figures may not add up to total due to rounding off. Table 4: Outstanding External Debt by Instruments (US$ billion) Instruments Dec 2024 PR Sep 2025 PR Dec 2025 P (1) (2) (3) (4) SDR 21.6 22.7 22.7 Currency and deposits 165.7 168.9 173.9 Debt securities 120.9 125.7 125.8 Loans 240.6 258.5 259.9 Trade credits and advances 135.6 135.0 146.4 Other debt liabilities 0.0 0.0 0.0 Direct investment: Intercompany lending 34.2 36.4 36.8 Gross External Debt 718.6 747.2 765.5 PR: Partially Revised; P: Provisional. Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Figures may not add up to total due to rounding off.Table 5: India’s Key External Debt Indicators (Per cent, unless indicated otherwise) Ratio of Ratio of Ratio of Short- Short- External Ratio of Foreign Ratio of Term Debt Term Debt External Exchange Concessional Debt End-March Service Debt to (US$ Debt to Reserves Debt to (original Ratio Foreign billion) GDP to Total Total Debt maturity) Exchange Debt to Total Reserves Debt (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) 1991 83.8 28.3 35.3 7.0 45.9 146.5 10.2 1996 93.7 26.6 26.2 23.1 44.7 23.2 5.4 2001 101.3 22.1 16.6 41.7 35.4 8.6 3.6 2006 139.1 17.1 10.1# 109.0 28.4 12.9 14.0 2007 172.4 17.7 4.7 115.6 23.0 14.1 16.3 2008 224.4 18.3 4.8 138.0 19.7 14.8 20.4 2009 224.5 20.7 4.4 112.2 18.7 17.2 19.3 2010 260.9 18.5 5.8 106.9 16.8 18.8 20.1 2011 317.9 18.6 4.4 95.9 14.9 21.3 20.4 2012 360.8 21.1 6.0 81.6 13.3 26.6 21.7 2013 409.4 22.4 5.9 71.3 11.1 33.1 23.6 2014 446.2 23.9 5.9 68.2 10.4 30.1 20.5 2015 474.7 23.8 7.6 72.0 8.8 25.0 18.0 2016 484.8 23.4 8.8 74.3 9.0 23.2 17.2 2017 471.0 19.8 8.3 78.5 9.4 23.8 18.7 2018 529.3 20.1 7.5 80.2 9.1 24.1 19.3 2019 543.1 19.9 6.4 76.0 8.7 26.3 20.0 2020 558.3 20.9 6.5 85.6 8.8 22.4 19.1 2021 573.4 21.1 8.2 100.6 9.0 17.5 17.6 2022 618.8 19.9 5.2 98.1 8.3 20.0 19.7 2023 623.9 19.1 5.3 92.7 8.2 22.2 20.6 2024 PR 668.9 19.2 6.7 96.6 7.4 19.7 19.1 2025 PR 736.4 19.8 6.6 90.8 6.9 20.1 18.3 end-June 2025 PR 746.8 19.7 6.6 93.5 7.1 19.3 18.0 end-September 747.2 20.1 6.0 93.7 7.0 19.7 18.5 2025 PR end-December 765.5 20.4 5.8 89.8 6.7 21.9 19.7 2025 P PR: Partially Revised; P: Provisional. #: Works out to 6.3 per cent with the exclusion of India Millennium Deposits (IMDs) repayments of US$ 7.1 billion and pre-payment of external debt of US$ 23.5 million. Note 1: Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Note 2: Ratio of external debt to GDP from end‑March 2024 (P) onwards is based on the new GDP series (Base Year: 2022‑23).