WASHINGTON: India hiked its exposure to US government securities by nearly $34 billion to touch $116.8 billion last year, even as the world's largest economy witnessed mixed growth trends.

At the end of 2014, the country's holdings of these securities was worth $83 billion.

Latest data from the US Treasury Department showed that India owned securities valued at $116.8 billion at the end of December, slightly higher than $115.4 billion in November.

In the first six months of 2015, India gradually raised exposure to $117 billion, before slightly trimming the holding to $116.4 billion in July. Then, it inched up to $116.8 billion at December end.

China remained the largest holder of US government securities worth $1.246 trillion, followed by Japan with holdings valued at $1.123 trillion.

Among the BRIC grouping, India has the third largest holding after China and Brazil ($254.8 billion).

Russia held American government securities to the tune of $92.1 billion in December last year.

India's increased exposure to American government securities also comes against the backdrop of the global economy witnessing uneven growth trends in 2015.

Indicating slower expansion, the US economy grew 1 per cent in the three months ended December 2015.

"Real gross domestic product -- the value of the goods and services produced by the nation's economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price changes -- increased at an annual rate of 1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015," as per the second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In the 2015 third quarter, real GDP rose 2 per cent.

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