India's foreign exchange reserves topped the $56 billion mark in the week ended May 31, 2001, over the previous week. The reserves went up by $333 million during the reporting week and stood at $56.148 billion as on May 31, 2002.
The growth in forex reserves comes on the back of increase in the valuation of gold reserves and foreign currency assets moving up moderately. During the reporting week, the gold reserves went up by $118 million to touch $3.249 billion and foreign currency assets rose by $215 million to stand at $52.890 billion.
According to analysts, the increase in gold reserves is on account of valuation gains as the gold prices have been on an uptick in the last one month.
Since March-end 2002, forex reserves of the country increased by $2.042 billion and since December-end 2001, the reserves rose by $8.036 billion.
Non-food credit and food credit extended by the scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) in the fortnight ended May 17, 2002, increased by Rs 6,092 crore and Rs 1,793 crore respectively. In the financial year so far, non-food credit extended by the SCBs stood at Rs 51,548 crore (Rs 920 crore in the corresponding period in the previous financial year) and food credit stood at Rs 4,815 crore (Rs 6,445 crore).
As on May 17, the outstanding non-food credit and food credit of the SCBs was at Rs 5,83,402 crore and Rs 58,793 crore.
Aggregate deposits of the SCBs declined by Rs 1,835 crore in the reporting fortnight ended May 17. While the demand deposits declined by Rs 1,950 crore, the time deposits edged up only by Rs 116 crore. The outstanding aggregate deposits of the SCBs stood at Rs 11,84,634 crore.
In the financial year so far, aggregate deposits of the SCBs increased by Rs 84,180 crore compared with Rs 35,249 crore in 2001-02.
Investments made by the SCBs in the reporting fortnight in the government securities and other approved securities declined by Rs 1,896 crore and Rs 551 crore respectively.
In the financial year so far, investments made by the SCBs in government securities was higher at Rs 19,939 crore as against Rs 15,369 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Investments made by the banks in the financial year so far in other approved securities declined by Rs 796 crore as against an increase of Rs 191 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The outstanding investments by the SCBs as on May 17, 2002, stood at Rs 4,58,296 crore.
