India’s external debt has crossed $778 billion, reaching a record $778.2 billion by the end of June. The headline debt-to-GDP ratio, however, barely changed, slipping from 20.9% to 20.8%. That lower ratio offers some reassurance. But it does not answer the more difficult question: how much of that debt is now moving towards repayment?
RBI data shows total external debt rising by $15.4 billion in the three months to June 2026, from $762.8 billion to $778.2 billion. The external debt-to-GDP ratio slipped from 20.9% to 20.8%. Absolute liabilities climbed. The ratio stayed almost flat. That is the figure the government prefers to emphasise.
The largest increase among major borrower groups came from the government itself. General government external debt rose by $6.8 billion to $174.3 billion, from $167.5 billion in March -roughly 4% in a single quarter. As a share of GDP it edged up from 4.6% to 4.7%. The number is not large enough to signal crisis. It is large enough to register when the overall external debt stock is already at a record level.
The government is not the biggest external borrower. Non-financial corporations hold about $281.2 billion. Deposit-taking corporations, mainly banks, account for $203.8 billion. Other financial corporations hold $79.7 billion. Intercompany lending stands at $39.1 billion. A substantial share of India’s external liabilities therefore sits with businesses and banks rather than with the Centre.
Long-term external debt rose by $11.2 billion to $624.7 billion. Short-term debt by original maturity rose by $4.3 billion to $153.5 billion. Loans remain the largest component at 34.3% of the total, followed by currency and deposits at 22.2%, trade credit and advances at 19.1%, and debt securities at 16.5%. The latest increase was not driven by a sudden rush into short-term foreign borrowing.
The more revealing figure appears in the residual maturity data. On that basis, $337.5 billion of external debt falls due within the next 12 months. That is 43.4% of total external debt and equivalent to 50.5% of foreign-exchange reserves, up from 47.3% in March. Residual maturity includes portions of long-term debt that are approaching repayment and is not the same as the $153.5 billion classified as short-term by original maturity. It still shows how large a share of the stock is moving closer to the repayment window.
Corporate exposure is concentrated on the same measure. About $173.8 billion of non-financial corporate external debt and $128.4 billion of bank external debt fall due within one year. The overall size of the debt pile matters less than the volume that must be refinanced or repaid in the near term.India can point to the 20.8% external debt-to-GDP ratio and the 5.6% debt-service ratio as evidence that the stock remains manageable. Those ratios do not settle the sharper questions. Government external debt rose the most in the June quarter. Companies and banks continue to carry large near-term obligations. The share of total debt falling due within a year has increased relative to reserves.
The numbers do not support claims of an imminent external debt crisis. They do show a larger stock, a bigger government contribution in the latest quarter, and a growing portion of liabilities moving toward maturity. The debt-to-GDP ratio can look calm. The maturity schedule is where the pressure sits.
