Why it is in the news
India's foreign exchange reserves fell by US$18.343 billion to US$747.557 billion in the week ended 25 September 2026, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) weekly statistical supplement released on 2 October 2026; Bloomberg-based reports flagged it as a record weekly decline. Reserves are now US$38.15 billion below the all-time high of US$785.706 billion (week ended 4 September 2026), which had been inflated by the RBI's concessional FCNR(B) swap window. The unwinding comes as the RBI sells dollars to defend a rupee pressured by crude oil and rising US yields, and as the central bank's short forward book swells to a record.
The exam angle
Issue: Why did a record peak in reserves give way within three weeks to successive sharp weekly falls, and what does it reveal about India's external vulnerability?