India Overtakes Russia to Become the World's Fourth-Largest Forex Reserve Holder at $785.7 Billion

13 September 2026National

India's foreign exchange reserves surged $44.9 billion in the week ended 4 September 2026 to a record $785.7 billion, pushing the country past Russia into fourth place globally, behind only China, Japan and Switzerland. The jump was driven by the RBI's FCNR(B) deposit scheme, launched on 8 June 2026, which had drawn $136.377 billion in inflows by 31 August. The milestone lands days after the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where India pitched financial resilience for the Global South, and it thickens the import cover cushioning the rupee against external shocks.

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RBI was established on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934 and nationalised on 1 January 1949 | Forex reserves have four components - Foreign Currency Assets, Gold, SDRs and the Reserve Tranche Position with the IMF | FCNR(B) accounts are foreign-currency term deposits held by NRIs, shielding the depositor from exchange-rate risk

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