India's foreign exchange reserves have experienced a significant decline, dropping by $7.79 billion to reach $690.69 billion for the week ending May 1, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This decline follows a previous decrease of $4.82 billion in the prior week. The reserves had peaked at a record high of $728.494 billion on February 27, but geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have exerted continuous pressure on the Indian rupee, prompting the RBI to intervene through dollar sales. For the latest reporting week, the largest component of the reserves, foreign currency assets, fell by $2.797 billion to $551.825 billion. Additionally, gold reserves saw a sharp drop of $5.021 billion, bringing them down to $115.216 billion. However, there was a slight increase in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which rose by $15 million to $18.789 billion, and India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $8 million to $4.863 billion.