Prime Ministers: Inder Kumar Gujral, A. B. Vajpayee
The gold airlift, liberalisation, and a floating rupee.
Bank Rate
9%
unchanged on 1997
Rupee per dollar
₹41.36
+13.7% on 1997
Inflation
13.23%
+6.07 pts on 1997
GDP growth
6.18%
+2.13 pts on 1997
Reserves
$30,647m
+8% on 1997
External debt
$98,334m
+4.5% on 1997
multilateral and bilateral aid · 11 May 1998
~USD 1.0–1.2 bn of World Bank loans postponed; Japan's ~USD 1 bn of yen loans frozen; Germany USD 168 mn on hold
answered with the USD 4.2 bn Resurgent India Bonds in Aug 1998
VerifiedOfficial record. Source: CRS 98-570; Morrow & Carriere 1999
sovereign access to concessional finance; INR; equities · 11 May 1998
Effect on commercial and economic impact explicitly not quantified by the Government: "It would not be possible to quantify the commercial and economic impact of these measures because of their changing situation." Sanctioning states listed by the Ministry of External Affairs as USA, Japan, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Australia; measures "mostly related to developmental assistance or concessional loans"
The US had "subsequently removed some of the restrictive economic measures" by August 2000. Some countries exempted humanitarian, poverty-alleviation and food assistance
VerifiedOfficial record. Source: Rajya Sabha, Unstarred Question 2086, 2000-08-10, MoS External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja (archive.org)
INR, BoP · 5 August 1998
USD 4.23 bn / Rs 18,051 crore raised
Announced in the 1998-99 budget; the Finance Minister told the Rajya Sabha no target had been fixed
VerifiedOfficial record. Source: RS Unstarred Q. 995, 1998-12-08 (archive.org)
Sovereign credit / FX · 11 May 1998
Moody's cut to Ba2 (1998-06, reported); Resurgent India Bonds raised US$4.2 bn (1998-08)
Vajpayee govt, FM Yashwant Sinha. India Millennium Deposits (2000-10/11) raised ~US$5.5 bn
ReportedOfficial record. Source: US Presidential Determination 1998; SBI (RIB/IMD)
sovereign rating · 19 June 1998
Baa3 → Ba2 (grade per Business Standard; dates per NPR)
ReportedPeer-reviewed. Source: Morrow & Carriere 1999; Business Standard 1998-06-20 (snippet)
customs tariff
Exact peak rate ? (not verified in this session); contemporaneous commentary describes a pause/reversal in the tariff-reduction glide path
UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: Ministry of Finance, Union Budget 1998-99, budget speech not opened in this session
FTA
Not verified against the treaty text in this session, so both dates are marked ? here and should be confirmed from the Ministry of Commerce treaty series
UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, FTA treaty series, not opened in this session
| Creditor | Instrument | Amount | US$ m | Status | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank (IBRD/IDA) | Loans postponed after Pokhran-II under G8/US pressure (800 energy/roads + 206 agriculture/health) | 1,006 USD | 1,006 | delayed; US dropped its objection Feb 1999 | verified |
| World Bank | Same postponement, alternative figure | 1,200 USD | 1,200 | delayed | verified |
| Japan | New yen loans frozen after Pokhran-II (plus USD 26–30 mn of grant aid) | lifted Oct 2001 | verified | ||
| Germany | New development aid put on hold | 168 USD | 168 | suspended | verified |
| NRIs/OCBs via State Bank of India | Resurgent India Bonds, 1998-08-05 to 08-24 | 4,200 USD/GBP/DEM | 4,200 | redeemed 2003: USD 5.2 bn incl. ~1 bn interest | verified |
| ECB lenders (aggregate) | ECB approvals, FY1998-99 (fall after sanctions) | 5,200 USD | 5,200 | flow | verified |
| Government of India / State Bank of India | Resurgent India Bonds (RIB) | Issued 1998 | unknown | ||
| State Bank of India (on behalf of Government of India / RBI) | Resurgent India Bonds (RIB) | 18,051 INR crore | 4,230 | Raised; repaid 2003 (sinking-fund route) | verified |
| State Bank of India (RIB) | Resurgent India Bonds, GBP tranche | Raised | unknown | ||
| United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia | suspension / restriction of developmental assistance and concessional loans (sanctions) | Partly lifted; US measures partially removed by 2000. Government told the Rajya Sabha it "would not be possible to quantify the commercial and economic impact" | verified | ||
| World Bank / IDA | withheld or delayed lending (US opposition) | Temporarily suspended, resumed 1999-2000 | unknown |
Rows are listed as recorded. Some describe the same loan from different sources and must not be added together.
