India has approved the first withdrawal of ₹30 billion, or about ₹3,000 crore, for the Maldives under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework, the Indian High Commission in Malé said. The move gives the Maldives access to Indian rupee liquidity on favourable terms at a time when the island nation is managing tight financing conditions.
The approval is part of India’s ongoing economic and financial assistance to the Maldives and is aimed at supporting the country’s liquidity requirements and macroeconomic stability. It is the first drawdown under the current arrangement, which was signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Maldives Monetary Authority during Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s state visit to New Delhi in October 2024.
The timing matters because the approval comes as an earlier $400 million swap facility the Maldives used in October 2024 reached maturity. Official statements say the Maldives settled that facility, while the new withdrawal opens another line of support under a regional mechanism designed to give member countries short-term foreign exchange backing without forcing them to rely entirely on external commercial borrowing.
That broader role has made India a steady financial partner for the Maldives under the swap arrangement. Since the framework began in 2012, the Reserve Bank of India has extended cumulative swap support of about $1.1 billion to the Maldives, and India has also rolled over $100 million in Treasury Bills as emergency support in recent years.
The immediate test is whether the latest facility gives Malé enough breathing room to steady reserves and keep financing stress from deepening. For now, the first withdrawal shows India remains willing to move quickly when the Maldives needs cash, and it underscores how central the swap line has become to the island nation’s financial safety net.
