This aligns with a worldwide trend of central banks bolstering their gold reserves. (Image: Ref.)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continues to fortify the nation's financial reserves with gold, a classic safe-haven asset. The central bank's gold holdings have officially crossed 880 metric tonnes in the first half of the current financial year, with a fresh purchase in the last week of September. The total value of this bullion has reached a substantial $95 billion as of September 26, 2025, underscoring its significant role in India's economic strategy.
The latest data from the RBI Bulletin provides a detailed breakdown of the acquisitions. In the six months ended September 2025, the RBI bought a total of 0.6 metric tonnes, or 600 kilograms, of gold. This was done through small purchases of 0.2 metric tonnes (200 kg) in September and 0.4 metric tonnes (400 kg) in June. These additions raised the total gold reserves from 879.58 metric tonnes at the end of March 2025 to 880.18 metric tonnes by the end of September.
The central bank's long-term, consistent gold accumulation plan includes this recent activity. The current financial year's purchases follow a much larger acquisition in the previous year. During the entire 2024-25 fiscal year, the RBI had added a significant 54.13 metric tonnes to its coffers. This pattern demonstrates a purposeful strategy to diversify the nation's foreign exchange reserves and bolster its financial stability with a physical asset.
The RBI's actions mirror a global pattern driven by widespread economic and geopolitical concerns. The central bank's bulletin explicitly links the demand for gold to "escalating global uncertainties." The report links rising international gold prices to “increased global economic and geopolitical uncertainty,” which led to more safe-haven buying. This trend isn’t just in India—central banks worldwide added 166 tonnes of gold during the same period, pushing prices to record highs in September.
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The combination of sustained institutional buying and investor flight to safety has created a powerful upward trend in gold's market value. The RBI bulletin says these factors have mainly driven domestic gold prices higher. Prices thus continued to rise during the third quarter, hitting a record in September 2025. This increase in the dollar value of the RBI's holdings has brought their valuation to $95 billion.
