Over the period, without adding much to the stock of external debt, there has been a quantum jump in forex reserves. This position needs to be contrasted with the 1980s, when external debt, especially short term debt, mounted while the forex reserves got depleted.
In fact, it is often held that, between 1956 and 1992, India faced balance of payments constraints in all but six years, while during the last ten years, there has never been a feeling of constraint on this account, eventhough the period coincided with liberalization of external account, global currency crisis and domestic political uncertainties.