India's foreign-exchange reserves have become the fourth largest

India's foreign-exchange reserves have become the fourth largest in the world, surpassing Russia. China has the largest foreign currency reserves followed by Japan and Switzerland.

Foreign exchange reserves (Forex reserves) are cash and other reserve assets held by a central bank primarily for balance payments, influence the foreign exchange rate and to maintain confidence in financial markets. Reserves are held in one or more reserve currencies, mostly the US dollar and the euro etc.

Foreign exchange reserves assets can comprise banknotes, foreign bank deposits, foreign government securities(bonds and treasury bills), gold, and special drawing rights(SDRs) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions.

India's reserves, enough to cover roughly 18 months of imports, have been bolstered by a rare current-account surplus, rising inflows into the local stock market and foreign direct investment.