The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added nearly 25 tonne of gold to its reserves during the second half of FY25, a period marked by a strong rally in global gold prices, according to official data released on Monday.
As of March 31, 2025, the central bank’s total gold holdings stood at 879.59 tonne, up from 854.73 tonne at the end of September 2024.
For the full fiscal year FY25, the RBI added over 57 tonne of gold—its largest annual increase in the last seven years—during a time when gold prices surged nearly 30 per cent.
The RBI’s Half Yearly Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves revealed a slight rise in the quantity of gold stored within the country, which increased to 511.99 tonne.
In addition to the gold stored domestically, 348.62 tonne of gold remains in the safe custody of the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), while 18.98 tonne is held in the form of gold deposits.
Earlier in FY25, the central bank had transferred a significant amount of gold to its domestic vaults. By September 30, 2024, the quantity of gold stored locally had risen to 510.46 tonne from just over 408 tonne on March 31, 2024.
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This shift in physical storage comes amid heightened global geopolitical tensions and has been described as one of the largest domestic movements of gold since 1991, when India had to pledge a portion of its reserves to manage a foreign exchange crisis.
The share of gold in India’s total foreign exchange reserves rose to 11.70 per cent at the end of March 2025, up from 9.32 per cent six months earlier.
Despite the increase in gold reserves, India’s overall foreign exchange reserves declined to $668.33 billion as of March 2025, compared to $705.78 billion at the end of September 2024.
These reserves are currently sufficient to cover 10.5 months of imports, down from 11.8 months in the previous half-year.