India’s external debt at the end of December stood at $480.2 billion, up by $4.9 billion over its levels at the end of March 2015, the government announced on Thursday. “The rise in external debt during the period was due to long-term external debt particularly commercial borrowings and NRI deposits. However, on a sequential basis, total external debt at end-December 2015 declined by $ 1.2 billion from the end-September 2015 level,” the government release said. Long-term debt was $398.6 billion at the end of December, 2.3 per cent higher than its level at the end of March 2015.
