In 2004 India held $132 billion in reserves and its stock market ranked sixteenth in the world. It now holds more than $700 billion, its market is among the five largest, and it has landed a craft near the Moon’s south pole.
The war chest
Reserves grew more than fivefold
India’s foreign-exchange reserves at year end, including gold. Switch to see India’s rank among reserve holders.
Reserves stalled at about $300 billion from 2010 to 2013 and India fell to tenth among holders. The climb resumed after 2014. Reserves fell by $71 billion in 2022 as the central bank sold dollars to defend the rupee; they were rebuilt to a record $728 billion in February 2026.
Source: World Bank WDI (IMF), total reserves including gold, 2004–2024; Reserve Bank of India weekly data via All India Radio (February 2026 record).
Weight abroad
Fifth-largest reserve holder in the world
Total reserves including gold, 2024, US$ billion. Tap or hover a bar.
Only China, Japan, the United States and Switzerland hold more. India holds more than Russia, Saudi Arabia or South Korea, and about four times as much as Indonesia or Turkey.
Source: World Bank WDI, 2024. Taiwan, which the World Bank does not cover, also holds about $580 billion.
The cushion
A bigger pile, but fewer months of imports
Reserves measured as months of imports they could pay for, 2004 and 2024
Imports grew faster than reserves. In 2004 the reserves could pay for 11 months of imports; in 2024, seven and a half. That is still more cover than almost every peer: only China, Nepal and Brazil have more, and Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ghana have under three months.
Source: World Bank WDI, total reserves in months of imports.
The market
From sixteenth to fourth among the world’s stock markets
Value of listed domestic companies, US$ trillion, India. Switch to see the world rank.
The market crashed by 60% in 2008 and recovered. Its value rose twelvefold over twenty years, to $5.1 trillion in 2024, and it passed Hong Kong in January 2024 to become the fourth largest. By mid-2026 Hong Kong had moved back ahead, leaving India fifth at about $5 trillion.
Source: World Bank WDI (World Federation of Exchanges); 2018 omitted because the reported value is inconsistent with adjacent years. Rank among countries the World Bank covers. Angel One (June 2026) for the mid-2026 position.
Among emerging markets
The largest emerging stock market after China
Value of listed domestic companies, 2024, US$ billion
India’s listed companies are worth five times South Africa’s and nearly eight times Brazil’s. China’s are worth more than twice India’s.
Source: World Bank WDI. Mexico 2023.
Investors
Foreign money arrives in record amounts, and most of it leaves again
Net foreign direct investment into India by calendar year, and the 2025–26 flows
Inflows peaked at $64 billion in 2020 and fell to $27 billion by 2024. In 2025–26 foreign companies brought in a record $95 billion, but they also took $54 billion home and Indian companies invested $33 billion abroad. Net, under $8 billion stayed.
Source: World Bank WDI (balance of payments, net inflows); Reserve Bank of India data via SuperKalam (May 2026).
Rupee and rating
The rupee lost nearly half its dollar value; the credit rating rose for the first time in 18 years
The rupee went from 45 to 84 to the dollar between 2004 and 2024. Prices in India rose 2.2 times as much as in the United States over those years, so adjusted for inflation the rupee actually gained strength. In August 2025 S&P raised India’s rating from BBB− to BBB, its first upgrade since 2007.
Source: World Bank WDI, official exchange rate (annual average) and consumer prices; S&P Global Ratings.
Missions
Seven milestones and three setbacks in space
Selected Indian space missions since 2004
India became the fourth country to land on the Moon and the first to land near its south pole, at a fraction of what others spent. Failures are part of the record too: two launches of the workhorse PSLV rocket failed within eight months, and the first uncrewed test of the human spaceflight programme has slipped six years.
Source: ISRO; Al Jazeera (PSLV-C61, May 2025); SuperKalam (PSLV-C62, January 2026); Wikipedia, Gaganyaan-1 (status as of June 2026).
Arms to the world
Defence exports grew 56 times in twelve years
Defence exports, ₹ crore, financial years
Private firms now sell more than state-owned ones: ₹15,233 crore of the ₹23,622 crore in 2024–25. The total is still small beside the large importers; ₹38,424 crore is about $4.5 billion.
Source: Press Information Bureau (2013–14, 2023–24, 2024–25); Ministry of Defence via Outlook Business (2025–26).
Start-ups
61 unicorns at home, 156 more founded by Indians abroad
Start-ups valued at $1 billion or more with at least one Indian co-founder, 2026. One square per company.
India has the fourth-largest number of unicorns in the world. More than two-thirds of the unicorns Indians have co-founded are based outside India.
Source: Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2026 via IANS (June 2026).
Contested numbers
Four numbers that need a second look
Source: RBI; World Bank WDI; Business Standard and Angel One; Wikipedia, Gaganyaan-1.
