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RBI shifts over 100MT of gold to domestic vaults
01 May 2026

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has repatriated a massive 104.23 metric tons of gold to the country between October 2025 and March 2026.

The move comes as the share of gold in India's forex reserves has surged, owing to rising gold prices and falling foreign currency assets.

The RBI's half-yearly report on foreign exchange reserves revealed that domestically held gold rose from 575.8MT in September last year to 680MT by March this year.

Gold's share in forex reserves jumps to 16.7%
Gold reserves

The RBI's total gold holdings saw a marginal increase from 880.2MT (valued at $97.4 billion) in September last year to 880.5MT (worth $115.4 billion) by March this year.

The value of gold in India's forex reserves also rose sharply from 13.9% to 16.7%.

Foreign currency assets held by RBI declined from $579.2 billion in September last year to $552.3 billion by March this year, prompting many the central bank to bring back gold reserves for greater sovereignty and reduced risks.

Global trend of repatriating gold reserves
International shift

The RBI's decision to repatriate such a large quantity of gold is in line with a global trend.

Several central banks, including France's Banque de France and Serbia's National Bank, have also brought back their gold reserves in recent years.

This is mainly due to heightened geopolitical tensions and the desire to bolster sovereignty while mitigating foreign custody risks.

Breakdown of foreign currency assets
Asset allocation

The RBI's foreign currency assets were distributed across a multi-currency portfolio of US dollar, euro, pound sterling, and Japanese yen.

As of March this year, $465.6 billion (84.3% of FCA) was invested in securities while $46.8 billion (8.5%) was deposited with other central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Deposits with commercial banks overseas fell slightly to $39.8 billion (7.2%).