India is continuously looking for opportunities to join global bond indices, a top finance ministry official said.
"We are constantly watching for an opportunity that would be advantageous for the country to join global bond indexes," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary (DEA) Arvind Mayaram told the new agency. When the rupee came under pressure, sliding to a record low in August, and forex reserves started depleting on worries about tapering by the US Federal Reserve, the government had asked the Reserve Bank of India to begin talks to include its debt in benchmark indices compiled by global banks such as JP Morgan, hoping to attract foreign funds.
A recent Standard Chartered report said India's inclusion in such a government bond index, which is tracked by large fund managers, could result in inflows of $ 20-40 billion in a year. Finance Minister P Chidambaram recently said India's current account deficit will be contained at less than $40 billion this financial year, well below the record level in 2012-13.