Startup Originals Team
India’s gold reserves have crossed the remarkable milestone of $100 billion for the very first time, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This achievement, reported in early October 2025, comes amid a sharp rally in global gold prices, even as India’s pace of gold purchases has slowed.
Record Reserve Value and Its Drivers:
As of the week ended October 10, 2025, India’s gold holdings reached approximately $102.365 billion, rising by about $3.595 billion from the prior week. During the same period, India’s overall foreign-exchange reserves stood at around $697.784 billion, having declined by about $2.18 billion.
Interestingly, this milestone wasn’t driven so much by large new gold purchases as by the dramatic valuation increase of gold itself. Global bullion prices surged, by roughly 65% in 2025, making existing gold assets far more valuable.
Gold’s Share in Foreign Reserves A 29-Year High
Gold’s share of India’s total foreign reserves has now climbed to 14.7%, the highest level since 1996-97. For context, about a decade ago, gold made up less than 7% of India’s reserves. This upward trajectory reflects both steady accumulation over time and the surge in gold’s market value.
Why the Surge Matters
- Hedge Against Volatility: Gold often serves as a safe-haven asset during geopolitical uncertainty, currency pressure or inflation. The sharp rise in its value suggests India is reaping benefits of this hedge.
- Strategic Reserve Diversification: The increasingly large gold share indicates that India is diversifying beyond traditional reserve assets like foreign currencies and government securities.
- Valuation Gain Impact: The milestone underscores how valuation effects (i.e., the rising dollar value of existing gold) can drive reserve figures upward, even when purchase activity slows.
- Global Context: Worldwide, central banks have been turning more to gold as part of strategic reserves—reflecting broader trends of de-dollarisation and safe-asset accumulation.
