SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Reserve Bank of India | Ministry of Finance
India’s invisibles receipts (services, transfers, and income) stood at US$ 143.6 billion in April–June 2025, while payments were US$ 77.5 billion, yielding a net surplus of about US$ 66.1 billion. This strong surplus cushioned India’s external account against merchandise trade pressures.
Within receipts, services exports contributed US$ 97.4 billion, led by IT-enabled services, transport (US$ 7.7 billion), and travel (US$ 5.9 billion). On the payments side, services imports were US$ 49.5 billion, with travel (US$ 9.1 billion) and transport (US$ 8.4 billion) as the largest outflows.
Private transfers, including remittances from overseas Indians, added significantly to receipts, reinforcing household consumption and foreign exchange inflows.
Invisibles remain India’s external strength, offsetting persistent merchandise trade deficits. Strengthening export competitiveness in professional, financial, health, and education services, while sustaining remittance flows, is vital to maintain current account stability.
What are Invisibles? → Non-merchandise transactions in the balance of payments, including services (IT, finance, tourism), remittances, and investment income. They are “invisible” because they do not involve physical goods but play a crucial role in foreign exchange flows.
India’s external sector is tracked through different RBI releases, each highlighting a piece of the same puzzle:
International Investment Position (IIP):
Snapshot of all external assets and liabilities.
Shows if India is a net debtor or creditor.
June 2025: Net IIP = US$ 312.8 billion (net debtor); asset–liability ratio improved to 79.2%.
External Debt:
A subset of IIP liabilities.
Focuses only on debt instruments (loans, bonds, deposits, trade credit).
June 2025: US$ 747.2 billion, 18.9% of GDP.
International Trade in Services:
Monthly flow data on services exports and imports.
August 2025: Exports US$ 31.2 bn, imports US$ 15.6 bn → strong surplus.
Invisibles (Services + Transfers + Income):
Quarterly stock-flow mix of non-merchandise transactions.
April–June 2025: Receipts US$ 143.6 bn, Payments US$ 77.5 bn → Net surplus US$ 66.1 bn.
The Connection
Flows like services exports and remittances (Invisibles) feed into the Balance of Payments, which over time builds into the IIP (stock position).
External Debt is the most policy-sensitive slice of IIP liabilities.
Together, these releases show that while India is still a net debtor externally, its service surplus and reserves are strong cushions against debt-related risks.
In short, India’s invisibles surplus and robust services exports balance its merchandise trade gap, while IIP and external debt data reveal the stock of obligations and resilience of the external balance sheet.
Follow the full news here: RBI Press Release on India’s Invisibles, Q1 2025-26