'Thirty per cent of the world's deaths in young people, due to heart disease, are encountered by people in India.'
India's net oil import bill could widen to $101-104 billion in current fiscal from $96.1 billion in 2023-24 and any escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict could impart an upward pressure on the value of imports, ICRA said on Tuesday. The domestic rating agency said based on its analysis, lower value of Russian oil imports is estimated to have led to savings of $7.9 billion in 11 months (April-February) of 2023-24, up from $5.1 billion in 2022-23.
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the government's target of reducing the current account deficit (CAD) to $70 billion or 3.7 per cent of the GDP in 2013-14 is "imminently reachable".
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India's CAD -- the gap between inflow and outgo of foreign exchange -- widened to a record high of $88 billion or 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product for the fiscal ended March 31, from $78.2 billion in 2011-2012, about 4.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.
CAD refers to the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange that has a bearing on exchange rate.
CAD, which is the difference between outflow and inflow of foreign currency, touched a historic high of 6.7 per cent in the third quarter.
The government would also take steps to promote exports and restrict non-essential imports, said Jaitley
The Prime Ministry's Economic Advisory Council Chairman also said fiscal deficit is a concern too and suggested raising domestic oil prices to restrict it to the budget target of 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product in this fiscal.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on said that financing current account deficit (CAD) year after year is a challenge and the only way to deal with the problem is by increasing exports.
India's balance of payments in negative territory.
When the outflows are more than the inflows, a deficit occurs in the current account of the nation, which is widely known as the Current Account Deficit.
Leading brokerages Nomura and Barclays on said current account deficit, which unexpectedly improved to 4.8 per cent in 2012-13, but still at a historic high, could moderate further this fiscal on slowing gold imports and cheaper commodities.
Gold imports had totalled 335.1 tonne in the April-June quarter, but have declined to 58.37 in the second quarter (up to September 25).
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As per the latest data, India's CAD sharply narrowed to 1.7 per cent of the gross domestic product or $32.4 billion in 2013-14 from a record high of 4.7 per cent in FY'13.
Moody's assigns 'Baa3' rating on India, with a stable outlook.
The country's current account deficit is likely to decline to 1.1-1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product in the third quarter, say rating agencies.
Gold imports more than doubled in August to a record high of $10.06 billion, mainly on account of a drastic cut in customs duty and ongoing festive demand, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Gold imports stood at $4.93 billion in August 2023. On record high imports, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the tariff rates on gold have been reduced drastically so that smuggling and other activities can come down.
The RBI left key policy rates unchanged and cut the GDP growth estimate for this fiscal to 5.5 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
The current account deficit is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange.
The central bank is of the view that rise in external debt a concern but rating outlook revision reassuring.
Gold imports, which peaked at 162 tonnes in May, came down to 19.3 tonnes in November.
Expressing serious concerns over the current account deficit touching a record 4.8 per cent in 2012-13, India Inc on Thursday asked the government to take all policy measures, including boosting exports and foreign exchange inflows to bring down CAD.
The government has hiked import duty on gold three times in a year and recently raised it by 2 per cent to 8 per cent to curb demand.
The government is committed to restrict the fiscal deficit at 3.4 per cent of GDP as envisaged in the Budget.
According to SBI Ecowrap, every $10/barrel increase in oil price results in additional import bill of $8 billion.
Exports increased by 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2014-15 to $81.7 billion. Imports moderated by 6.5 per cent to $116.4 billion. The CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency, had touched a record high of $ 87.8 billion (4.8 per cent) in 2012-13 fiscal mainly on account of steep increase in gold imports.
The finance ministry expects a broad-based moderation in inflationary pressures on the back of an anticipated reduction in food prices as a result of the uptick in summer sowing. The retail inflation rate remained stubbornly clung to the 5 per cent mark in seven of the past eight months. "Core inflation is trending downwards, indicating a broad-based moderation in price pressures... Driven by strong domestic growth and benign global commodity prices, core inflation is declining continuously.
Fiscal deficit in first half of FY19 has already reached 95.3 per cent of full-year budget estimates.
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He said while bringing in investments, it is also necessary to manage the high current account deficit.
Rajan says, this is a time where countries should be focusing on getting the macro stability in order
India's current account deficit which narrowed in the second quarter of this fiscal, however, is likely to widen during the second half of FY 2013-14 as seasonal demand bring in more imports, an HSBC report says.
It added that industrial output is on decline due to poor demand and lack of infrastructure.
The largest component in computing CAD is trade deficit. India's trade deficit widened to $13.35 billion in October as exports contracted 5.04 per cent and gold imports surged
India's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to ease to 4.4 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal year on lower oil and gold prices, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML)said in a research note.
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Narrowing of the current account deficit will help arrest depreciation of the rupee and ease inflation concerns, industry groups said.
India recorded a current account surplus of $5.7 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP in the March quarter, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday. This is the first time in ten quarters that the crucial metric of the country's external strength has turned into surplus mode. In the year-ago period, the current account deficit stood at $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP, and the same was $8.7 billion or 1 per cent of GDP in the preceding quarter ending December 2023.
India's current account deficit narrowed sharply to just $300 million
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RBI Governor Rajan on Wednesday said significant progress made in curbing current account deficit.
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