A release from the central bank said that the reserves rose by $ 315 million in the week ended March 19, 1999. The rise is mainly on account of an increase in the foreign currency assets which crossed the $ 28 billion mark to reach a record level of $ 28.25 bn.

Analysts said that the rise can be attributed to the increased flow of funds from the foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Foreign institutional funds have been increasing their exposure in the stock market after finance minister Yashwant Sinha presented a market-friendly budget which included sops to mutual funds and exemption of long term capital gains tax.