India’s foreign exchange reserves have once again reached new heights, registering an increase. In the week ended August 15, this reserve increased by $ 1.48 billion to $ 695.10 billion. In the previous week, it had increased by $ 4.74 billion and reached $ 693.61 billion. This continuous increase in foreign exchange reserves is considered a positive sign for the Indian economy, as it reflects the country’s financial position and its strength at the global level.
Fluctuations in foreign exchange assets and gold reserves
The largest part of the foreign exchange reserves, i.e. foreign exchange assets, increased by $ 1.92 billion to $ 585.90 billion this week. Apart from the dollar, it also includes the impact of fluctuations in non-US currencies like Euro, Pound and Yen. On the other hand, gold reserves fell by $ 49.3 million to $ 85.66 billion. Apart from this, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) increased by $ 4.1 million to $ 18.78 billion and India’s reserve with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $ 1.5 million to $ 4.75 billion. These figures show that even though theXX gold reserves have decreased, the level of total foreign exchange reserves remains strong due to the increase in other assets.
Honorable Prime Minister,⁰The blood of the Indians killed in the Pahalgam attack has not yet dried, and the tears of their families have not yet stopped.⁰Even so, playing cricket matches with Pakistan is inhumane!
@narendramodi
@AmitShah
@BCCI pic.twitter.com/eSSBmVALLo— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) August 23, 2025
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves: Slight improvement
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are very limited compared to India. In the week ended August 15, the reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $ 1.3 million to $ 14.256 billion. According to data released by the Central Bank of Pakistan, the country’s total foreign exchange reserves have reached $ 19.571 billion. Out of this, about $ 5.315 billion is with commercial banks. According to Catrade Securities, Pakistan’s total reserves are $ 19.6 billion, which is enough to meet only 2.32 months of imports. This makes it clear that Pakistan has still not fully come out of the foreign exchange crisis.
Importance of foreign exchange reserves
Foreign exchange reserves are an important economic security shield for any country. It includes foreign currencies like dollar, euro, gold and other financial assets, which are kept safe by the central bank or monetary authority. The main purpose of foreign exchange reserves is to keep the domestic currency like rupee stable, ensure payments in international trade and meet the balance of payment deficit in case of economic crisis. This is the reason why India’s increasing reserves are considered important in the direction of economic strength, while the limited reserves of countries like Pakistan indicate their weak economic condition.
