India’s foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by USD 11.41 billion to USD 698.34 billion in the week ending March 20, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India. This drop follows a previous decline of USD 7.05 billion in the week before, when reserves stood at USD 709.76 billion. Earlier this year, reserves had reached a record high of USD 728.49 billion in late February. The main reason for the latest fall was a steep decrease in gold reserves. The value of gold holdings dropped by USD 13.49 billion to USD 117.19 billion during the week.