India recorded a balance of payments surplus of $66.8 billion for the first six months of the current fiscal year, buoyed by higher inflows through bank deposits, Reserve Bank of India data showed. The country had recorded a deficit of $6.4 billion in the year-ago period.
The country’s current account deficit (CAD), however, widened to $25.8 billion from $18 billion a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in the merchandise trade deficit. Merchandise exports rose to $265.3 billion from $221.5 billion in the year-ago period, while imports increased to $441.4 billion from $379.6 billion.
Services flows, meanwhile, remained positive, rising to $105 billion from $98.8 billion in the year-ago period. Under the capital account, inflows through foreign currency non-resident bank (FCNR-B) deposits with local banks rose to a record $12.56 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, facilitated by the RBI’s dedicated dollar mobilisation programme. In comparison, inflows from non-resident Indians stood at just $6.1 billion during the same period a year earlier. The massive influx helped the capital account surplus widen to $92.6 billion as compared with $11.6 billion earlier.
