Lok Sabha Question No. 1637 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-10
Subject: External Debt
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

- (a) the details of the external debt of the country as on date;
- (b)  whether  India  continues  to  be  among  the  less  vulnerable  countries  and  its external  debt  indicators  compare  well  with  other  indebted  developing  countries  as per World Bank's annual publication, 2015 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  details  of  amount  of  principal  and  interest  paid  to  lender  countries,  country and institution-wise during the last three years and current year; and
- (d) the steps taken to lighten the country's external debt?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

- (a)  India's  external  debt  stock  stood  at  US$  484.3  billion  at  end-September  2016, recording a decline of US$ 0.8 billion (0.2 per cent) over the level at end-March 2016 as per latest available data. Long-term debt accounted for 83.2 per cent of India's external debt, while the remaining 16.8 per cent was short-term debt.
- (b) According to World Bank's annual publication titled ' International Debt Statistics 2017',  which  contains  the  external  debt  for  the  year  2015,  India  continues  to  be among the less vulnerable countries and its external debt indicators compare well with other indebted developing countries. Among the top twenty developing debtor countries, India's external debt stock ratio to gross national income (GNI) at 23.4 per cent  was  the  fifth  lowest.  In  terms  of  the  cover  provided  by  foreign  exchange reserves to external debt, India's position was sixth highest at 69.7 per cent.
- (c) The country-wise and institution-wise principal and interest paid to lenders in the last three years and current year is given below.

| (US$ million)   | (US$ million)                        | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)   | (US$ million)               | (US$ million)               |
|-----------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
|                 |                                      | 2013-14         | 2013-14         | 2014-15         | 2014-15         | 2015-16         | 2015-16         | 2016-17 (till Dec 31, 2016) | 2016-17 (till Dec 31, 2016) |
|                 |                                      | Principal       | Interest        | Principal       | Interest        | Principal       | Interest        | Principal                   | Interest                    |
|                 | External debt service payments (A+B) | 3623.22         | 729.54          | 3952.35         | 678.59          | 4057.73         | 666.81          | 3420.87                     | 608.57                      |
| A               | Multilateral (1 to 6)                | 2330.54         | 364.66          | 2714.55         | 354.77          | 2894.98         | 370.52          | 2464.1                      | 387.01                      |
| 1               | ADB                                  | 477.79          | 81.18           | 505.69          | 82.37           | 550.96          | 94.52           | 583.68                      | 121.22                      |
| 2               | EEC (SAC)                            | 1.45            | 0.11            | 1.45            | 0.09            | 1.24            | 0.10            | 1.19                        | 0.07                        |
| 3               | IBRD                                 | 856.87          | 79.41           | 924.12          | 66.80           | 902.61          | 86.27           | 669.97                      | 96.49                       |
| 4               | IDA                                  | 979.32          | 200.52          | 1267.08         | 201.90          | 1425.14         | 186.02          | 1194.54                     | 165.82                      |
| 5               | IFAD                                 | 12.24           | 3.03            | 13.27           | 3.11            | 12.41           | 3.05            | 13.56                       | 3.08                        |

| 6   | OPEC                     |    2.87 |   0.41 |    2.94 |   0.50 |    2.62 |   0.56 |   1.16 |   0.33 |
|-----|--------------------------|---------|--------|---------|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|
| B   | Bilateral (7 to 13)      | 1292.68 | 364.88 | 1237.8  | 323.82 | 1162.75 | 296.29 | 956.77 | 221.56 |
| 7   | Germany                  |  293.16 |  57.23 |  321.24 |  51.45 |  301.61 |  47.39 | 304.36 |  47.95 |
| 8   | France                   |   41.49 |   7.63 |   41.35 |   7.47 |   19.76 |   6.22 |  16.79 |   3.99 |
| 9   | Japan                    |  764.74 | 251.22 |  713.54 | 222.5  |  704.21 | 207.03 | 506.17 | 165.77 |
| 10  | Russian Federation (USD) |  155.69 |  40.59 |  123.97 |  35.4  |   99.66 |  29.48 | 103.92 |   0.53 |
| 11  | Russian Federation (INR) |    7.85 |   0    |    8.52 |   0    |    7.53 |   0    |   7.66 |   0    |
| 12  | Switzerland              |    0.81 |   0.12 |    0.76 |   0.08 |    0.71 |   0.04 |   0.29 |   0.01 |
| 13  | USA                      |   28.94 |   8.09 |   28.42 |   6.92 |   29.27 |   6.13 |  17.58 |   3.31 |

(d)  The prudent external debt management policy of the Government of India has helped  in  containing  rise  in  external  debt  and  maintaining  a  comfortable  external debt position. The policy continues to focus on monitoring long and short-term debt, raising  sovereign  loans  on  concessional  terms  with  longer  maturities,  regulating external  commercial  borrowings  and  rationalizing  interest  rates  on  Non-Resident Indian deposits.

*****