Preliminary data on India’s balance of payments (BoP) for the first quarter (Q1), i.e., April-June 2019-20, are presented in Statements I (BPM6 format) and II (old format).

Key Features of India’s BoP in Q1 of 2019-20

• India’s current account deficit (CAD) at US$ 14.3 billion (2.0 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2019-20 narrowed from US$ 15.8 billion (2.3 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2018-19 but was higher than US$ 4.6 billion (0.7 per cent of GDP) in the preceding quarter.

• The CAD contracted on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, primarily on account of higher invisible receipts at US$ 31.9 billion as compared with US$ 29.9 billion a year ago.

• Net services receipts increased by 7.3 per cent on a y-o-y basis, mainly on the back of a rise in net earnings from travel, financial services and telecommunications, computer and information services.

• Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, rose to US$ 19.9 billion, increasing by 6.2 per cent from their level a year ago.

• In the financial account, net foreign direct investment was US$ 13.9 billion in Q1 of 2019-20 as compared with US$ 9.6 billion in Q1 of 2018-19.

• Foreign portfolio investment recorded net inflow of US$ 4.8 billion in Q1 of 2019-20 – as against an outflow of US$ 8.1 billion in Q1 of 2018-19 – on account of net purchases in both debt and equity markets.

• Net inflow on account of external commercial borrowings to India was US$ 6.3 billion in Q1 of 2019-20 as against an outflow of US$ 1.5 billion a year ago.

• In Q1 of 2019-20, there was an accretion of US$ 14.0 billion to the foreign exchange reserves (on BoP basis) as against a depletion of US$ 11.3 billion in Q1 of 2018-19 (Table 1).

(Yogesh Dayal)    
Chief General Manager

Press Release : 2019-2020/822