New Delhi, May 6 (KNN) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expanded its gold reserves by approximately 25 tonnes during the latter half of fiscal year 2025, coinciding with a significant uptrend in global gold prices, according to official data released Monday.

The central bank’s total gold holdings reached 879.59 tonnes as of March 31, 2025, representing an increase from 854.73 tonnes recorded at the end of September 2024.

For the complete fiscal year FY25, the RBI added more than 57 tonnes of gold, marking its most substantial annual increase in seven years, during a period when gold prices surged by nearly 30 percent.

According to the RBI’s Half Yearly Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves, gold stored within India increased slightly to 511.99 tonnes.

The remainder of the reserves includes 348.62 tonnes held in safe custody at the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), while 18.98 tonnes are maintained as gold deposits.

Earlier in FY25, the central bank had transferred a considerable quantity of gold to its domestic vaults. By September 30, 2024, locally stored gold had increased to 510.46 tonnes from approximately 408 tonnes on March 31, 2024.

This redistribution of physical gold storage occurs against a backdrop of increased global geopolitical tensions and represents one of the most significant domestic movements of gold since 1991, when India pledged a portion of its reserves during a foreign exchange crisis.

Gold’s proportion within India’s total foreign exchange reserves rose to 11.70 percent by the end of March 2025, up from 9.32 percent six months earlier.

Despite the growth in gold holdings, India’s overall foreign exchange reserves declined to USD 668.33 billion as of March 2025, compared to USD 705.78 billion at the end of September 2024.

The current reserves provide coverage for 10.5 months of imports, down from the previous half-year figure of 11.8 months.

(KNN Bureau)