Former RBI Official Urges $1 Trillion Forex Reserve Buffer Amid Rupee Pressure

Former RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra recommends India build foreign exchange reserves to at least $1 trillion to ensure robust market intervention capacity. This target includes buffers for one-year external debt and potential foreign portfolio capital outflows. India's reserves recently declined to $716.81 billion amid RBI interventions to support the rupee, pressured by rising crude prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Weak capital inflows and rising foreign investor outflows further challenge external stability amid a widening trade deficit.