India's forex reserves hit record $729 billion on sustained capital inflows

India's foreign exchange reserves surged to a record $729.33 billion in the week ending August 21, according to central bank data released on Friday. The reserve pile has increased for eight consecutive weeks, rising by approximately $63 billion during this period and surpassing the previous peak set in February. In June, India introduced a series of measures aimed at boosting dollar inflows, such as discounted hedging facilities for state-run firms and banks making overseas borrowings, and a complimentary hedging facility for banks to acquire overseas FX deposits.

Between June 5 and August 21, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received nearly $73 billion under these schemes, with about $65 billion originating from non-resident Indian deposits. The RBI decided to expedite the closure of its deposit hedging facility by a month to the end of August due to the scale of inflows. The rise in forex reserves is attributed to both the RBI purchasing dollars during that week and the revaluation gain.

Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, noted that the dollar purchases were driven by the FCNR-B swap window with banks seeking deposits before the window closes. Between August 14 and August 21, the reserves increased by $12.4 billion, driven by a $9.5 billion surge in the central bank's foreign currency assets and a $2.8 billion rise in the value of gold holdings.

The RBI's frequent interventions in the foreign exchange market to support the rupee may have offset some of the effects of the overseas dollar inflows, according to bankers.