NEW DELHI: India’s current account deficit (CAD) has gone up to $15.8 billion in the first quarter of the 2018-19 financial year, compared to $15 billion in the same quarter last fiscal. However, in terms of percentage of GDP, it has declined marginally to 2.4 per cent against 2.5 per cent of the GDP in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
“India’s CAD stood at $15.8 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2018-19 as compared with $15 billion (2.5 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2017-18,” the RBI said on Developments in India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) data released on Friday.
According to the data, net service receipts increased by 2.1 per cent year-on-year mainly on back of a rise in net earnings from software and financial services.
“Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to $18.8 billion, increasing by 16.9 per cent from their level a year ago,” the central bank said.
The RBI data also revealed that net foreign direct investment was at $9.7 billion in the first quarter of 2018-19, higher than $7.1 billion in the year-ago period.
However, on the flip side, portfolio investment recorded a net outflow of $8.1 billion in the first quarter of 2018-19, the RBI added.
Net receipts on account of non-resident deposits amounted to $3.5 billion in the April-June period of 2018-19, as compared to $1.2 billion a year ago.
The foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $11.3 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year, also depleted marginally. The forex reserves were pegged at $11.4 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.