Indian firms raised over $2 billion through external commercial borrowings in July to fund various programmes, including overseas acquisitions and for importing capital goods, the Reserve Bank of India has said. 

It is for the first time in nine months that external commercial borrowings of Indian companies have crossed the $2-billion mark in what has emerged as yet another strong sign of recovery after the sharp growth in industrial output in June. The largest amount raised was $500 million by London-based industrialist Anil Agarwal's metals major Vedanta towards capital goods, while Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group came next with $486 million for their Sasan power project. 

Statistics released late Wednesday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that automaker Volkswagen's $190 million for their India project and $183 million raised by Fiat India for capital goods were also among the notable fund-raising exercises

As many as 39 companies used the automatic route to raise $1.94 billion, while seven companies raised $74.25 million through the approved route, RBI said. Indian companies raised $4.73 billion in the first four months of this fiscal, against $6.52 billion during the corresponding four months of the previous fiscal.