<h1>India's External Debt Hits $316.9 Billion by June 2011; Strategy Lowers Debt-to-GDP Ratio to 17.3.</h1> India's external debt reached US$ 316.9 billion by end-June 2011, up from US$ 306.5 billion at end-March 2011, primarily due to increased commercial borrowings and short-term trade credits. Of this, long-term debt was US$ 248.4 billion, and short-term debt was US$ 68.5 billion. The government's debt management strategy includes monitoring debt types, securing long-term concessional loans, regulating commercial borrowings, and adjusting NRI deposit interest rates. This approach has reduced the external debt-to-GDP ratio from 21.1% in 2001-02 to 17.3% in 2010-11, as reported by a finance ministry official in the Lok Sabha.