The country’s foreign exchange reserves at $ 541.66 billion, the finance minister said enough for 19 months of imports

The country’s foreign exchange reserves slipped $ 353 million to $ 541.660 billion in the week ended September 11. Earlier, during the week ended September 4, it had risen by $ 58.2 million to reach $ 542.013 billion. During the week ending June 5 this year, the country’s foreign exchange reserves crossed $ 500 billion for the first time.

According to the RBI, the foreign currency assets (FCA) declined by $ 841 million during the week ended September 11, reflecting the foreign exchange reserves. FCA includes fluctuations in reserves of Euro, Pound and other currencies except Dollar. It is also calculated in dollar value. At the end of the week under review, the country’s gold reserves rose by $ 49.9 million to $ 38.02 billion.

In addition, the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund decreased by $ 1 million to $ 1.482 billion. The country’s foreign exchange reserves deposited with the Monetary Fund declined by $ 11 million to $ 4.637 billion.

In the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that India’s foreign exchange reserves had increased to $ 537 billion. He said that this is enough for 19 months of imports. At the same time, the Finance Minister said that the government is not considering increasing tax rates to compensate for the loss in revenue due to corona virus epidemic.

The Finance Minister clearly stated that the issue of GST compensation to the states will be discussed in the GST Council. He also said that the Center is not backing away from its responsibility on the issue of GST compensation to the states.