New Delhi: According to the latest report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the countrys foreign exchange reserve which is the foreign currency stock increased by $1.98 billion to reach $688.13 billion in the week ending April 25. This is the eighth consecutive week that an increase in Indias reserves has been recorded. However this figure is still a little below the all-time high of $704.88 billion from September 2024 but looking at the trend it is clear that Indias foreign currency position is strengthening again. The biggest contribution was from Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) as the largest contribution to this increase came from FCA which rose by $2.17 billion to $580.66 billion. It is important to note that FCA includes other currencies such as euros pounds and yen in addition to dollars and fluctuations in their valuation also affect this. However this week there has been a decline of $207 million in gold reserves which have now come down to $84.36 billion. In addition Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) associated with the IMF have increased by $21 million to $18.58 billion and Indias reserve position with the IMF has also increased by $2 million to $4.51 billion. The central government has no borrowing. The RBI has also reported that the central government has no borrowings but there has been a decline in loans given to the states. These have decreased from Rs 36792 crore to Rs 22324 crore. If we talk about the period from March 2025 until now India’s forex reserves have increased by a total of $19.80 billion or Rs 1.67 lakh crore. This increase includes positive contributions from FCA gold SDR and IMF position. Over the year from April 26 2024 to now there has been an increase of Rs 5.61 lakh crore (approximately $50.21 billion). This in itself reflects Indias external economic strength.