Consider the following statements: Most of India's external debt is owed by governmental entities.

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Neither statement is correct. At end-March 2019 the Government's own (sovereign) share was only 19.1% of India's external debt, so most of it is owed by non-government borrowers, and US dollar debt was about half (50.5%), with a large rupee-denominated share.

• ✗ 1. The Ministry of Finance's status report gives the Government (sovereign) share as 19.1% of total external debt at end-March 2019. The rest is owed by banks, public-sector firms and private companies, including NRI deposits.
• ✗ 2. US dollar debt was the largest currency component at 50.5%, but rupee-denominated debt made up 35.7% and the rest was in yen, SDR, euro and other currencies.
• • Since then At end-March 2025 the US dollar share of external debt was 54.2%, still not the whole; rupee, yen, SDR and euro debt remain (Ministry of Finance status report 2024-25).

Remember · India's external debt is mostly non-government (government share about one-fifth) and only about half is in US dollars; the rest is in rupees, yen, SDR, euro and others.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error