The RBI noted that reserve management prioritises safety and liquidity, while a small portion is managed by external asset managers to diversify investments. | Photo Credit: iStockphoto
The gold reserves rose from 854.73 metric tonnes at the end of September 2024 to 880.18 metric tonnes at the end of first half of the current fiscal year — an increase of 25.45 metric tonnes.
“As at end-September 2025, the Reserve Bank held 880.18 metric tonnes of gold, of which 575.82 metric tonnes were held domestically,” the RBI said in its Half Yearly Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves April-September 2025 released on Tuesday.
Share of gold in forex reserves nears 14% as dollar assets dip
While 290.37 metric tonnes of gold were kept in safe custody with the Bank of England (BoE) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 13.99 metric tonnes were held in the form of gold deposits, it said.
In value terms (USD), the share of gold in the total foreign exchange reserves increased from 11.70 per cent as at end-March 2025 to about 13.92 per cent as at end-September 2025, it said.
However, forex reserves marginally declined to USD 700.09 billion as at end-September 2025 as compared to USD 705.78 billion as at end-September 2024.
During the half-year period under review, reserves increased from USD 668.33 billion as at end March 2025 to USD 700.09 billion as at end-September 2025, it said.
Although both US dollar and Euro are intervention currencies and the Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) are maintained in major currencies, the foreign exchange reserves are denominated and expressed in US dollar terms, it said.
“Movements in the FCA occur mainly on account of purchase and sale of foreign exchange by the RBI, income arising out of the deployment of the foreign exchange reserves, external aid receipts of the central government and changes on account of revaluation of the assets,” it said.
The foreign currency assets comprise multi-currency assets that are held in multi-asset portfolios as per the existing norms, which conform to the best international practices followed in this regard.
Forex assets worth $579 billion split across securities, deposits
As at end-September 2025, out of the total FCA of USD 579.18 billion, USD 489.54 billion was invested in securities, USD 46.11 billion was deposited with other central banks and the BIS and the balance USD 43.53 billion comprised deposits with commercial banks overseas, it said.
“With the objective of exploring new strategies and products in reserve management while diversifying the portfolio, a small portion of the reserves is being managed by external asset managers. The investments made by the external asset managers are governed by the permissible activities as per the RBI Act, 1934,” it said.
RBI balances safety, liquidity and returns in reserve management
The report said the guiding objectives of foreign exchange reserve management in India are similar to those of many central banks in the world.
The demands placed on the foreign exchange reserves may vary widely depending upon a variety of factors including the exchange rate regime adopted by the country, the extent of openness of the economy, the size of the external sector in a country’s GDP and the nature of markets operating in the country, it said.
While safety and liquidity constitute the twin objectives of reserve management in India, return optimisation is kept in view within this framework, it added.
Published on October 28, 2025
