The RBI holds 557.8 tonnes of gold, of which 265.5 tonnes is held abroad in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements.

This forms about 7.9 per cent of the total foreign exchange reserves in dollar terms as on September 27, 2013, according to the half-yearly report on the management of forex reserves put out by the Reserve Bank of India. Foreign exchange reserves were at $277 billion as of end-September 2013. They were at $294 billion at the end of February 2014.

The report also said as at end-September 2013, of the total foreign currency assets of $248.8 billion, $155.7 billion was invested in securities, $86.6 billion was deposited with other central banks, BIS and the IMF and the remaining $6.6 billion comprised deposits with foreign commercial banks and funds placed with external asset managers.

The rate of earnings on foreign currency assets was at 1.45 per cent during the July 2012-June 2013 period, little changed from the performance in the previous year. (RBI follows the July-June year for its accounts).

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