The Age Of Stars

FX / rupee · 3 July 1991

Second devaluation step

cumulative devaluation about 18 per cent in USD terms (RBI's own wording)

The RBI's official chronology dates the devaluation to 1 and 3 July 1991

VerifiedOfficial record. Source: rbi.org.in

sovereign credit · 31 October 1991

IMF Board approves India's Stand-By Arrangement

US$2.2bn over a 20-month period (upper credit tranche)

Stated in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Finance; the SDR equivalent is usually given as SDR 1.656bn

VerifiedOfficial record. Source: archive.org

FX reserves · 27 November 1991

Reserves recover past ₹6,700 crore

>₹67bn (≈US$2.6bn at ₹25.95/USD)

Minister of State for Finance Rameshwar Thakur told the Rajya Sabha the reserves had "gone to more than Rs. 6700 crores", up from the Prime Minister's ₹6,000 crore; an unusual case of a dated official reserve level inside the crisis

VerifiedOfficial record. Source: archive.org

Gold / FX · 1 May 1991

Sale of 20 t of confiscated gold via SBI to UBS (with repurchase option)

~US$200 mn raised (reported)

Chandra Shekhar govt, FM Yashwant Sinha

ReportedOfficial record. Source: RBI; Parliament answers 1991

FX (INR/USD) · 1 July 1991

Two-step rupee devaluation

~18–19% combined (reported ~9% then ~11%)

Narasimha Rao govt, FM Manmohan Singh, RBI Gov. S. Venkitaramanan

ReportedOfficial record. Source: RBI

Gold / FX · 1 July 1991

Gold pledge / airlift to the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan

46.91 t pledged; ~US$400–405 mn raised

The flights to London are the defining image of the crisis; the City's role here was as custodian and lender

ReportedOfficial record. Source: RBI; Lok Sabha answers 1991

sovereign rating · 7 March 1991

S&P downgrades India

to BBB- long-term / A- short-term

first of the 1991 downgrades; Moody's action date and grade not verified

ReportedPress. Source: the1991project.com timeline

reserves · 4 July 1991

First consignment of 46.91 t of RBI gold flown to London for the BoE/BoJ pledge

USD 405 mn loan

redeemed Sep–Nov 1991

ReportedPress. Source: ThePrint / Rangarajan; The Quint

FX reserves / BoP · 1 January 1991

Foreign-exchange reserves at their pre-crisis peak-for-the-crisis

US$1.2bn (halved by June)

Widely cited figure; the encyclopaedic account gives US$1.2bn in January 1991, "depleted by half by June", "barely enough to last for roughly 3 weeks of essential imports"

ReportedPress. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Indian_economic_crisis

sovereign credit · 1 February 1991

Chandra Shekhar ministry cannot pass the Budget after a Moody's downgrade; IMF and World Bank…

The downgrade from investment grade is dated to April 1991 in one detailed account ("by mid-March, global credit-rating agencies had placed India on watch and by April, downgraded"); the exact rating action date is unresolved

ReportedPress. Source: indianexpress.com

FX reserves · 1 April 1991

Reserves collapse to under ₹1,000 crore

<₹10bn (≈US$560mn at ₹17.9/USD)

"reserves had slipped to less than Rs 1,000 crore", the reserve low is dated to the pre-election period, after polling was called; Business Standard instead reports reserves "hovering at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion" during the crisis, a different date/definition, so both are recorded

ReportedPress. Source: indianexpress.com

gold / FX · 21 May 1991

Gold airlift, tranche 1: consignments airlifted during the election campaign

20 tonnes to UBS for US$200mn

Signed off by FM Yashwant Sinha; gold moved a few days after polling day; the government lost its parliamentary support in Feb 1991 and was a caretaker

ReportedPress. Source: indianexpress.com

FX / rupee · 1 July 1991

First devaluation step

~9.5% depreciation, taking the rate to about ₹23/USD

Ten days after the Rao government was sworn in; FM Manmohan Singh

ReportedPress. Source: business-standard.com

gold / FX · 4 July 1991

Gold airlift, tranche 2

46.91 tonnes pledged with the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan for US$400mn

Central banks insisted on physical delivery of gold rather than accepting India's IMF depository status as collateral; gold repurchased and returned to the RBI before December 1991; the Indian Express broke the story, forcing Manmohan Singh to tell Parliament it was "a painful necessity"

ReportedPress. Source: indianexpress.com

policy · 24 July 1991

New Industrial Policy and the 1991 Budget, both on the same day

Licensing abolished for all but 18 industries; MRTP asset limit scrapped; 51% automatic foreign equity in 34 industries; export subsidies abolished

Manmohan Singh's Budget speech: "Let the whole world hear it loud and clear. India is now wide awake."

ReportedPress. Source: business-standard.com

Exchange-rate action: two-step devaluation, 1991-07-01 and 1991-07-03

Cumulative devaluation of about 18 per cent against the US dollar in two steps (RBI's own words); the first…

Cumulative devaluation of about 18 per cent against the US dollar in two steps (RBI's own words); the first step was about 9.5 per cent taking the rate near ₹23/USD. Executed under PM Narasimha Rao and FM Manmohan Singh, ten days after they took office

VerifiedOfficial record. Source: rbi.org.in

Trade policy package, July 1991

Abolition of export subsidies

REP (registered exporter) licences for imports replaced with tradable Exim Scrips; all supplementary import licences abolished; decanalisation of imports proposed; stated goal of rupee convertibility in three to five years

ReportedPress. Source: business-standard.com

New Industrial Policy, 1991-07-24

Industrial licensing abolished for all projects except 18 specified groups

MRTP asset limit scrapped; private investment allowed in 10 areas reserved for the public sector; automatic approval of foreign technology agreements; automatic foreign equity up to 51 per cent in 34 specified industries; disinvestment of government equity in PSUs to mutual funds and financial institutions permitted

ReportedPress. Source: business-standard.com

Union Budget of 1991-07-24 (Manmohan Singh)

The Budget that carried the July 1991 reform package: "Let the whole world hear it loud and clear

India is now wide awake." Same date as the New Industrial Policy

ReportedPress. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Global

Dissolution of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War

Loss of a major trade partner and of the rupee-rouble clearing arrangement; contraction of Indian exports to the USSR and loss of Soviet economic support at the moment of the BoP crisis

ReportedPress. Source: en.wikipedia.org

tankers

Persian Gulf / northern Gulf (Desert Storm)

UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: [M7] not found