Forex reserves surged $311 billion under RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das | Economy & Policy News

The country’s foreign exchange reserves have risen by $311 billion since December 2018, when the tenure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das began. This represents the largest forex jump under any governor to date. India now has the fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves globally at $704.8 billion, according to the latest RBI data, trailing only China, Japan, and Switzerland. In the current calendar year, the reserves have grown by $81.7 billion. During Y V Reddy’s term from September 2003 to September 2008, reserves rose by $200.5 billion. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 16.83 per cent under Das’ tenure.  During D Subbarao’s tenure, the rupee depreciated by 50.19 per cent due to the US Federal Reserve reversing its easy money policy, leading to foreign investors withdrawing funds from emerging markets like India. Contributing factors included India’s rising current account deficit, high inflation, and sluggish economic growth.