This paper uncovers theoretical foundations of the factors influencing external debt and presents empirical model of the macroeconomic determinates of external debt in India for a period from 1990-91 to 2016-17. The OLS model reveal that gross fiscal deficit, net domestic savings, net domestic capital formation, exports, imports, real effective exchange rate, foreign exchange reserves, net terms of trade, consumer price index, debt service ratio, net foreign direct investment, gross domestic product and real interest rates (LIBOR) are the prominent macroeconomic variables and they explain 62 percent of the total systematic variations in India’s gross external debt.